Goodbye
by EpicThoth3's
Summary: The title is more literal than you think. After much consideration, I have decided to leave FanFiction. Forever. Some of you, I can already tell, are extremely excited. However, just in case there's even one of you out there angry at me for leaving so many stories unfinished, this piece includes anything and everything I haven't officially published. SPOILERS.
1. Goodbye

**Sadly, and after much consideration, I have decided to leave FanFiction. I hope you realize that as much as I loved writing (and still do), FanFiction has always been last on my list of priorities, and recently my life has gotten so busy that I no longer have enough time to truly dedicate any time to this. My new job, my family, and my personal life in general are all much more important to me than anything I have published here. I'm sure you can understand my decision, even if you don't like it.**

 **That said, I think it would be cruel just to leave my other stories unfinished. You readers have been waiting so patiently to see how they pan out, and to learn that they'll never see an end is unfortunate indeed. You didn't deserve this. So here's the part you care about.**

 **The rest of this piece (i.e. all the other chapters) will be separated into five parts: Miscellaneous, I'm Coming Home, Dead Man's Diary, Chaos Law, and The Beacons. In each part, I will publicize any and all material I have regarding the story. This includes alternate endings, bonus chapters, deleted scenes, unpublished proofs, and a summary of the rest of the plot. It will not be one chapter apiece—some stories (cough cough the beacons) have far too much material to publish in one chapter. Also, the Miscellaneous part will be about stories I had planned in the background, but never got around to publishing on this site.**

 **Of course, this means SPOILERS. Many of them. If you'd rather not know how my stories end without reading them for real, then by all means do not continue through this piece. But I assume that there are those of you who do want to know the endings, regardless of whether or not you learn of them in proper form. It is for these people I publish these notes.**

 **So, for the last time, this is EpicThoth3's. Fellas, it's been a blast. Carpe diem.**

* * *

 _As much as I'd like to stay_

 _There always comes a time_

 _When I have to go away_

 _And bid one last goodbye_

 _There's so much I want to do_

 _And have already done_

 _But even though I'm leaving you_

 _I know we're having fun_

 _..._

 _Goodbye, friends, goodbye_

 _My time with you is at an end_

 _Goodbye, friends, goodbye_

 _Maybe someday we'll meet again_

 _Goodbye, friends, goodbye_

 _My time with you is at an end_

 _Goodbye, friends, goodbye_

 _Maybe someday we'll meet again_


	2. Miscellaneous

**Miscellaneous**

Honestly, there was pretty much only one story I had running around in the background. The idea was to create another PnF story that could pass for an episode. Here it is so far:

[Proof]

Isabella had no sooner woken up one morning than her doorbell rang.

She walked groggily from her bedroom to the door, wondering who could possibly be at their house this early in the morning. The only other people who she knew would be up and about at such an hour were Phineas and Ferb. They always did like to get a head start on the day. Even as school started, and dragged on into mid-spring, the brothers awoke each morning with the same bright attitude. In particular, weekends such as this one presented a golden opportunity to get something done.

Isabella swung open the door, and lo and behold, it was Phineas himself standing in the entranceway. Her eyes widened.

"Hey, Isabella," he greeted quickly, taking a nervous glance behind him. "Can I come in?"

Was he... _begging_?

Never one to turn down a friend in need, Isabella welcomed Phineas inside. The boy hesitantly rushed in, and hurriedly closed the door behind him. The redhead then took extra care to stay out of sight of any and all windows.

"Is something wrong?" Isabella asked, noticing Phineas's unusual behavior.

Phineas shrugged her off. "No, nothing's wrong."

"But you look scared," Isabella continued.

"If you were in my position, you would be, too," said Phineas.

"Why?" Isabella asked. "Are you hiding from something?"

"Someone," corrected Phineas. "Ferb."

Isabella gasped. "What?! Did you get in a fight with Ferb?!"

"Not a fight," Phineas corrected again. "A war."

"How can you be warring with Ferb?!" Isabella demanded, incredulous. "You two are, like, inseparable!"

"That's the truce working," explained Phineas. "Three hundred and sixty-four days a year, we are completely at peace. But every first of April, it's on. Me against Ferb, engaged in a twenty-four hour prank war for supremacy. This year will be the hardest yet."

Isabella smiled with realization. What better way to celebrate April Fool's day than to try and out-prank your stepbrother.

She had only one problem with it. "But isn't it—"

Phineas cut her off. "Shh! I think I hear someone coming."

The sound of floorboards creaking confirmed Phineas's suspicions. Both kids waited in silence, afraid of what might come around the corner.

Vivian Garcia-Shapiro stepped into view, and the kids breathed a sigh of relief.

"I came over here because I'm scared of how Ferb will retaliate," confessed Phineas. "For the pre-game, I switched his toothpaste with his hair dye."

"I knew his green locks couldn't be real," exclaimed Isabella.

"Yeah, well, now his teeth aren't real, either," said Phineas.

"I wonder what his hair looks like normally," Isabella thought aloud.

 _In a bathroom across the street, Ferb was frantically squeezing green dye out of his toothpaste tube and rubbing it all over his naturally plaid hair._

"Better not to think about it," replied Phineas, as if there had never been a cutaway.

Isabella heeded his advice, and changed the subject. "So why are you—"

But Phineas was nowhere to be seen. The redhead had spied a tuft of green hair out of the corner of his eye, and left without making a sound.

Isabella looked around frantically. "Where's Phineas?" she asked nobody in particular.

* * *

At a nearby intersection, a mindless teal platypus was lazily standing around for no reason in particular. He nonchalantly looked left, then casually looked right, then nonchalantly looked left again. However, instead of crossing the street, the sidewalk tile beneath Perry opened up, and he fell into the empty space below him.

Whilst in midair, the secret agent donned the fedora marking him as a member of OWCA, and effortlessly landed perfectly in the red swiveling chair in his hideout.

On the screen in front of him, Major Monogram was frantically applying stage makeup and putting on his uniform.

"Sir!" Carl urgently whispered from off-screen. "You're live!"

"What?!" Major Monogram was now messing around with the nearly invisible headset he wore, trying desperately to reattach it to his wig, and above all hoping not to make a fool of himself. As if he hadn't by now...

He then saw Perry awaiting orders.

"Oh! Agent P! Umm... Hold on just a second here, I'm almost ready."

The Major buttoned his top button and pressed the water-based purple MM tattoo onto his olive green shirt.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten," he counted, then peeled the wet paper off to reveal the sloppily applied status symbol on his uniform. Mr. Frances Monogram then gave himself one last squirt of actor's perfume, took a deep breath, and began his briefing.

"I'm afraid Doofenshmirtz is at it again," he confessed to Perry. "We decided to try using more... conventional methods to gather intelligence for this mission, so we sent out our scouts to observe him in the street and see what he was up to."

An insert in the corner of the screen showed the back of Carl, who was comically dressed up in a deerstalker and overcoat, with a pipe in his mouth. On the other side of the street was the unmistakeable white lab coat of Doofenshmirtz, and the intern could be seen peering at the scientist from afar through his magnifying glass.

"The results were," Monogram shuddered, "disturbing."

"He bought no less than forty-eight six-packs of soda," Carl confirmed, shuddering. "That's two hundred and eighty-eight cans of soda! And, from the stains on his lab coat, I'm guessing those weren't the first two hundred eighty-eight, either."

"Two hundred and eighty-eight!" the Major echoed. "There aren't even that many milliliters in a can!"

"Two hundred and sixty-five," Carl confirmed. "A difference of twenty-three."

"I can math, Carl," Monogram said coldly.

"But can you grammar?" came the response.

"Good luck, Agent P," came the end of the conversation.

* * *

 _Prank wars!_

 _Oh, a new day's begun_

 _There's a whole lotta fun_

 _'Cause it's April, day one_

 _It's time for prank wars!_

 _..._

 _Oh, there's laughs to be had_

 _Lots of tricks, good and bad_

 _Outwit them, make 'em mad_

 _It's time for prank wars!_

 _..._

 _Prank wa-a-ars!_

 _When he turns himself invisible and wedgies you_

 _Retaliation is a must: what will you do?_

 _You could paint his bedroom windows black_

 _Or jump him, stuff him in a sack_

 _Or shrink him 'till he's minuscule_

 _Or give him a fake diamond jew'l_

 _Or teleport him overseas_

 _Or say that he's isosceles_

 _Or even make him turn ninety degrees_

 _(In front of Stumblegimpians)_

 _It's time for prank wars!_

 _..._

 _Oh, we're joking around_

 _Knocking each other down_

 _In high-def, surround sound_

 _It's time for prank wars!_

 _Oh, we merrily play_

 _Lots of tricks the whole day_

 _It's the very best way_

 _It's time for prank wars!_

 _Prank wa-a-ars!_

 _Every time you cross the street_

 _Pay attention to your feet_

 _'Cause you never know when they might step on a trap that shoots you into the sky and through the clouds onto a pile of last week's dirty bedsheeeeeeeeeeeets_

 _It's time for prank wars!_

[End proof]

There were a few songs I had written and not published as well, but I decided to compile those into their own album. That will be published separately, and will contain all 30 of my original songs, one per chapter. So I guess this concludes everything miscellaneous I have to share with you.


	3. I'm Coming Home

**I'm Coming Home**

Bonus 1: Alternate ending.

[Final—unpublished]

So, fueled by all the rage and hate of five years, by the memory of my friends, my siblings, by the desire to return to my mother, to life, I move. In a step, I am right behind the bodyguard who got knocked out earlier. I reach for his gun, and aim it at the Anarchist.

A single shot echoes through the warehouse. The entrance doors break open, and Major Monogram rushes in, followed closely by the intern Carl and Perry the Platypus. But I can barely see them through the teary fog in my eyes. Funnily enough, I don't feel any pain. On the contrary, I feel... liberated.

The Anarchist tries running, before anyone has a chance to recognize him. Carl and the Major lay chase. Perry, however. sees me, and rushes to my aid instead.

I fall to my knees, then onto my back. Perry reaches me, and sees the bloody hole in my heart. He reaches into his hat, and pulls out his first aid kit. My pet platypus tries everything he can to save me: applying pressure to the wound, bandaging it to stop the bleeding. He activates his 911 alert, and ambulances start rushing to the scene. But both of us know it is too late.

"Perry," I groan, reaching out to stop him. There's nothing he can do. Not to keep me alive.

I pick him up, and bring him close to my chest, embracing him in a warm, tight hug. He chatters, and I smile. Oh, how I missed that sound!

My vision is getting blurrier by the second, and I can feel my life slipping out of reach. But I don't bother doing anything about it. What's the point?

Instead I just lie there, sharing my final moments with my pet platypus.

"Perry," I whisper again. "Ta—" I cough up a small amount of blood, signaling that the end is upon me.

"Take me home."

 _It's been a long, long time since I smiled_

 _It's been a long, long time since I've seen the light of day_

 _It's been a long, too long, but I'm coming_

 _Tell the world, brother dear, I'm coming home_

My deteriorating vision quickly fades out until all I can see is Perry's teal fur. All I can feel is his tiny body lying on top of me, sobbing.

 _It's been a long, long time since that summer_

 _It's been a long, long time since I had a chance to laugh_

 _It's been a long, too long, but I'm coming_

 _Tell the world, brother dear, I'm coming home_

Yet a moment later, those, too, are gone. My view is filled with a blinding white light, as I disappear from the world completely.

 _It's been a long, long time since I left you_

 _It's been a long, long time since you calmed me through the storm_

 _It's been a long, too long, but I'm here now_

 _Tell the world, brother dear, I made it home_

Before long, I start to see shapes again. A silhouette approaches me, blurry at first, but quickly focusing into a recognizable rectangular head and square nose.

 _Tell the world, brother dear, I made it home_

"Ferb," I say, greeting my brother. "It's been too long."

[End Final—unpublished]

* * *

Bonus 2: Headlines

[Canon with the actual ending] [Proof]

 **Cold Case Solved, Doctor Murdered**

Just over five years ago, six children went missing from Maple Drive without a trace. Of these six, five were eleven, and one was fifteen. Three were related, and three were close friends. Four were male, two were female. None left any trace. No ransom note was received, no money was demanded, and no leads were found by the police. Despite months of effort, the file named Maple Drive Kidnappings stood empty. It was moved to the storage room, next to all the other cold cases. That is, until yesterday, when one of the children kidnapped walked out of one of the Doctor's warehouses.

Phineas Flynn, son of Linda and Lawrence Flynn-Fletcher, was the escapee. His story, as told in a recent press conference, shook the world to its core.

"I know what you're going to ask," he said. "And the answer is yes. I killed the Doctor. He deserved it, too..."

 **A Flawed Legacy**

"Why stop at the sky, when there are footprints on the moon?" asked scientist and inventor Nigel Shear, more commonly known as the Doctor, during his latest Nobel Prize acceptance speech. "Our fathers may have created our destiny, but it is up to us to fulfill it... That destiny is to bring the future to us, and I am blessed with the role of leading the charge."

It was a speech lauded by all, often being compared to Martin Luther King Jr.'s, I Had A Dream speech. And, just like Martin Luther King Jr., the Doctor was assassinated before he could see his dream come true. Or, as he would put it, before he could see his destiny fulfilled.

Yet it would be ludicrous to compare the globally adored scientist to the legendary civil rights activist. The arrival of Phineas Flynn, who disappeared without a trace five years ago, led to the discovery of a startling secret. One big enough to uproot the entire legacy the Doctor left behind.

"I killed the Doctor," Phineas confessed. "He deserved it, too. Anyone capable of killing so gruesomely, ruthlessly, and unapologetically has no place in our world. My only regret is that I was unable to make him suffer as I had..."

 **Buried Secrets**

Just after 6:00pm on Sunday, September 5, five-time Nobel Prize winner Nigel Shear was murdered. Less than an hour after that, his killer confessed. Then, last night, the Nobel Prize Committee stripped Shear of each of his five Nobel Prizes, reissuing them to Buford Van Stomm, Candace Flynn, Baljeet Tjinder, Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, Ferb Fletcher, and Phineas Flynn. So what happened?

Well, first it must be known that five of the six recipients of those Nobel Prizes are dead, and have been for at least two years. The sixth, Phineas Flynn, is Shear's killer. Flynn claims that it was he and the other five, not the Doctor, as Shear is best known, who designed and built the numerous inventions Shear claimed as his own. Among these inventions are the Light-Speed and Beyond Rocket, the Animal Attractor, the Bodykeeper, the No-Air, and the Ultra-Gro.

Normally, such wild accusations against such a prominent figure would be dismissed as a sign of insanity. However, Phineas has one crucial piece of evidence supporting his story: the dead bodies of Candace Flynn, Ferb Fletcher, Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, Baljeet Tjinder, and Buford Van Stomm. They were discovered just outside the Doctor's headquarters, right where Mr. Flynn claimed to have buried them...

 **The Best Defense is a Good Offense**

The case of Phineas Flynn vs. Nigel Shear, already referred to as one of the most unusual court battles ever, recently took another surprising turn when the Nobel Prize Committee gave its input and reissued each of the Doctor's five Nobel Prizes to Phineas Flynn and his five dead compatriots. However, does anyone really understand what is happening in that courtroom? This article hopes to explain more clearly all the technicalities and ongoings of this famous battle.

The case started when Phineas Flynn was accused of the murder of Nigel Shear. He was said to have shot the Doctor six times, and there were three witnesses to verify this fact. Many expected Flynn to plead guilty, and hopefully garner a reduced sentence for himself. This did indeed happen, but not without a twist. Flynn freely and openly admitted to the murder of the Doctor, but he called for a second case to be held when he accused the Doctor himself of fraud, kidnapping, and murder. A second case was indeed opened to look into this matter, and it is this case which caused the world to rethink their opinions.

You have to remember that at this point the entirety of the world supported the Doctor's case here. Finding an unbiased jury would be impossible. And the defendant in this case—Nigel Shear—was dead, killed at the hand of the prosecutor. People called this second case nothing more than a delay tactic on Phineas Flynn's part, a way to stay out of jail for as long as possible.

However, Mr. Flynn mounted one of the strongest attacks ever seen in a courtroom to date. His offensive started when he mentioned that he and five others (Ferb Fletcher, Candace Flynn, Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, Baljeet Tjinder, and Buford Van Stomm) were reported missing five years ago, and until recently never seen nor heard from again. He claimed that the reason behind his disappearance was that he has been kidnapped by none other than Nigel Shear himself. He then went on to say that he and the other five victims spent those five years designing and building every invention which Shear called his own and with which won a Nobel Prize. Finally, Flynn accused Shear of the murder of each of the other five missing people. Again, the world called these accusations ludicrous, and reinforced the idea that this case was merely a dirty delaying tactic.

Then Flynn presented his evidence.

Undoubtedly the strongest piece of evidence supporting Flynn's case was the discovery of the bodies of Ferb Fletcher, Candace Flynn, Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, Baljeet Tjinder, and Buford Van Stomm near the Doctor's world headquarters in Danville, IL. Though the autopsies proved ineffectual for the most part, since the bodies had all spent the last 2-5 years rotting underground and not in a coffin, Flynn's explanation of how each person died fit perfectly with what evidence doctors could salvage, and, since no other reasonable explanation offered, Flynn's explanations were submitted as the official causes of death of each of the five corpses.

Next, Phineas Flynn attempted to prove he took part in designing each of Shear's groundbreaking inventions. Some of the world's top scientists were called to the podium to question Mr. Flynn on his knowledge of the science behind the Doctor's scientific breakthroughs, and to everyone's surprise, the prosecutor's knowledge surpassed even that of the experts questioning him.

After that, an examination of the original copy of nearly all of Nigel Shear's inventions revealed the hidden signature of Phineas Flynn, and occasionally some of his compatriots, on the item in question. Even the liquid elixirs developed by the Doctor proved to have, in extraordinarily small quantities, what Mr. Flynn jokingly referred to as his "chemical signature," a molecule made of phosphorus, hydrogen, iodine, neon, and arsenic (P, H, I, Ne, As).

Confronted with this evidence and more, much of the world has been convinced to change their mind about the once-beloved Nigel Shear. Phineas Flynn's appeal for a second case to be held no longer seems like a delaying tactic, but a method for uncovering the truth. Most of the leading correspondents on the case now seem to agree that, surprisingly, the jury will decide in Phineas Flynn's favor.

[End proof]

Final note: I had planned some chapters describing in detail life as prisoners under the Anarchist, but never began writing. No summary will be presented here, as the story itself has many descriptions of these events, and nothing would be any different.

This concludes my writings and notes from I'm Coming Home.


	4. Dead Man's Diary

**Dead Man's Diary**

[Proof]

 **CHAPTER 21: Wishes**

Suddenly, the lights dim. A flickering glow, starting in the front hall, grows brighter and brighter as it gets closer. Automatically, Ferb and Buford switch moods, as Baljeet starts singing. It's the classic tune, but since happy is kind of a banned word, the lyrics are altered somewhat.

 _Today is your birthday_

 _Today is your birthday_

 _Isabella, you're eighteen_

 _Today is your birthday_

Baljeet sets the cake down on the table in front of Isabella. "Make a wish," he says.

Isabella thinks hard. She closes her eyes, and solemnly blows out the candles.

"What did you wish for?" Baljeet inquires.

"I can't tell you," Isabella replies. "That would ruin the magic."

Ferb casts a knowing smile. "I know what she wished for," he reveals.

"What?" Isabella asks.

"Same as always," answers Ferb. "To meet Phineas again."

"Is that not what we all wish for?" Baljeet adds.

"It is," Ferb agrees. He then shows Baljeet the Communicinator. "But this time, her wish could come true."

Isabella starts thinking intently. I can almost see the scales in her head, weighing her options. Either build the machine and risk offending me, or play it safe and ensure that I continue to smile from the afterlife.

I wish she could see me now, because I'm not exactly smiling. The choice is a lot less complicated than she makes it.

"Okay," Isabella sighs—finally. "Let's build that machine."

 **CHAPTER 22: Surreal**

Five years ago, I died. Sort of.

Five years is also a lot of time. Certainly enough for me to accept what happened, and adjust to my new life. If you can call it that.

Therefore, I adjusted. More or less. I learned the uselessness of talking, how to pass through solid objects, and float my way to my destination. I accepted that people could neither see nor hear me, and that in being able to pass through objects, I could never touch them physically.

Basically, I realized that this was my existence now, and over the course of five years, I came to terms with it. I realized that impossibility was not only possible, but common. I realized just how much was unattainable. Like resurrection, for instance.

So this all seems a little surreal to me. I mean, earlier today I was heard for the first time in five years. That was one of the things I had labeled as impossible. Now my friends have changed their minds about creating, another occurrence which I never thought I would see.

Surreal. Yes, that's the right word. Nothing today has been orthodox, even in my twisted existence. It's all been a bit hard to believe. Unbelievable is one word, strange is another. However, I like surreal best, because it captures the vividness of the situation from all angles.

It wasn't long after I... moved on... that I gave up on the possibility of returning home. I couldn't even make contact with the physical world. Truthfully, even now I doubt that a working Communicinator will be built again. But for the first time ever, the idea, and the desire, is there. And that, at the very least, is a step in the right direction.

Perhaps I was wrong about the possibility of impossibility. I, for one, hope I was.

[End proof]

* * *

There actually wasn't that much left to this story. Certainly not much worth spoiling. Many of the chapters were simply going to be reflection chapters like the second of the two above. Once everybody agreed to try and resurrect Phineas for Isabella's birthday, the story would have continued like this:

They would have managed to build their own version of a Communicator, but once again, Phineas would be very limited in his speaking ability. However, he would at the very least convince everyone that he was out there to be brought back to life. They realize that his soul is still floating around in this world, so they build another machine to harness it and attach it to a body. Only one problem: Phineas's body has been deteriorating for five years underground. Isabella offers up her own body, but Phineas can't suddenly become a girl, and Isabella also has her own life ahead of her, which is not something Phineas can just step into. Then Perry comes along again with one final idea.

Contained within OWCA headquarters are STEM-cell research labs and some 3D-printers. The plan is to sneak in, replicate Phineas's DNA, print the parts, and literally build a new body for him. So that night, everybody sneaks into the OWCA laboratory, bringing with them as many samples of Phineas's DNA as possible. After five years, much of the DNA has, like his body, deteriorated, so it takes many snapshots from multiple strands to assemble an accurate picture of his genome structure, and even then it's not complete.

Once this gets done, the 3D-printed Phineas is placed into the other machine, which is then turned on, reattaching the soul to the new body. Phineas is alive again. The first thing he does in the world again? Fall down. He needs a wheelchair.

[Final—unpublished]

 _Breathe_

 _Feel your tongue in your teeth_

 _Let your heart pump a beat_

 _'Cause you know how it feels to live a—_

 _—gain_

 _Close your eyes, count to ten_

 _Swing your arms, move your legs_

 _'Cause I've been resurrected and—_

 _..._

 _—I don't remember anything_

 _I cannot stand, I can barely sing_

 _I can't recall the taste of food_

 _I do not know what's nice or rude_

 _..._

 _I don't know and I need to relearn it all over so that I can be myself again..._

 _..._

 _It's a beautiful life, and now it's all okay_

 _Smile from when the sun rises 'til it sets each day_

 _And if you don't trust your eyes, hear what I say:_

 _It's a beautiful life... don't throw it away_

 _..._

 _It feels so good to be alive_

 _To taste the food, to touch the sky_

 _To run, to walk, to scream, to cry_

 _To jump, to talk, to dream, oh my!_

 _..._

 _I don't remember anything_

 _I cannot stand, I can barely sing_

 _I can't recall the taste of food_

 _I do not know what's nice or rude_

 _..._

 _And they can tell me that I won't have fun_

 _They can tell me that it can't be done_

 _But I'll just smile and prove them wrong_

 _I've been biding my time far too long_

 _So get out there and tell the world_

 _Tell every single boy and girl_

 _That they can try but I won't burn_

 _It's my turn, now, it's my turn_

 _..._

 _I don't know and I need to relearn it all over so that I can be myself again..._

 _..._

 _It's a beautiful life, and now I'm back for more_

 _Every second is precious; it can't be restored_

 _So you'd best spend 'em doing what it is you adore_

 _It's a beautiful life... one you shouldn't ignore_

 _It's a beautiful life, and now it's all okay_

 _Smile from when the sun rises 'till it sets each day_

 _And if you don't trust your eyes, hear what I say_

 _It's a beautiful life... don't throw it away_

 _..._

 _I don't remember anything_

 _I cannot stand, I can barely sing_

 _I can't recall the taste of food_

 _I do not know what's nice or rude_

 _I don't remember anything_

 _I'm like a baby, but eighteen_

 _I must relearn life's many ways_

 _'Cause now I hope I'm here to stay_

 _..._

 _And they can tell me that I won't have fun_

 _They can tell me that it can't be done_

 _But I'll just smile and prove them wrong_

 _I've been biding my time far too long_

 _So get out there and tell the world_

 _Tell every single boy and girl_

 _That they can try but I won't burn_

 _It's my turn, now, it's my turn_

 _..._

 _So get out there and tell the world_

 _Tell every single boy and girl_

 _That they can try but I won't burn_

 _It's my turn, now, it's my turn_

[End final—unpublished]

[Proof]

 _There was a time when we loved, but life tore us apart_

 _I thought I'd never see you, but you're back in my heart_

 _And I know you're not ready to spread your wings_

 _So I thought we should start with the simple things_

[End proof]

* * *

The first song (labeled final) was absolutely going to end up in the story, had I gotten around to it. But as for the other one (labeled proof), it is not finished, and more likely than not, would not have ended up in the story.

One final note: it was left out of the story exactly how Phineas's soul was separated from his body. Well, as many of you guessed, it was Doofenshmirtz's fault. On that fateful day, he had devised a new way to take over the Tri-State Area: use Roger's body. He developed a machine that would first separate the soul of his target from the body, and then put his own soul in the now-empty vessel. When Perry foiled him that day, the trajectory of the beam was shifted, so when it fired a shot, it hit Phineas, ripping his soul and body apart. Doofenshmirtz, in the midst of being thwarted, was never able to occupy Phineas's body himself.

This concludes my writings and notes from Dead Man's Diary.


	5. Chaos Law

**Chaos Law**

[Proof]

 **Chapter 9: I Don't Speak Salamander (Alternate Title: Katie Saw A Toaster)**

 **Isabella**

I would have returned to the backyard quickly (I left it a few scenes ago, when Ferb was signing to everyone) if I had not received the phone call. It was from Ginger, and she was speaking on behalf of my Fireside Girl troop. Apparently, something was going wrong, and she wanted an emergency meeting scheduled to discuss the problem. I decided that Ferb could wait.

Fifteen minutes later, we were gathered together at the Fireside lodge.

"What seems to be the problem?" I asked everyone.

"We're all seeing double," Gretchen explained. "At first I thought my glasses were broken, because I saw one mom with each eye. Then I realized the world was broken instead, and I had two of the same moms."

"Yeah," Adyson agreed. "One moment, there was only one salamander, and the next moment, there were several."

"Well, Adyson," I rationalized. "Maybe the salamander had some babies. And Gretchen, are you sure it wasn't just an optical illusion?"

"I'm sure," Gretchen replied. "My microwave's done some seriously weird stuff before, but this is a whole new level of crazy. I watched my mom actually hold a conversation with herself."

"That's not the half of it," Ginger added. "I thought I saw Stacey this morning, but then I realized it was me at Stacey's age."

"So far, that's two cases of vision problems and one case of completed pregnancy," I tallied.

"Oh, come on," Milly sighed. "Everyone's been seeing crazy stuff today. Heck, I even saw Phineas kissing that nerd, what's-her-name."

"I second that," Holly motioned.

"I third that," thirded Katie, not wanting to be left out.

"I fourth that," Candace put forth.

"Candace?" I asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm a Fireside Girl, aren't I?" Candace replied. "Technically, I'm supposed to be coming to all these meetings."

The rest of the girls murmured agreement.

"Right now, I think you're all paranoid," I confessed. "Except for the Phineas kissing Gill part. That, I saw. Sadly."

"We're not paranoid," Gretchen argued. "You've only heard three cases."

"All right," I decided. "Who else has been seeing things?"

Every hand went up. Each girl gave me a brief description of her conundrum, and I wrote it all down. When everyone was finished, I read the results.

"So, Gretchen saw her mom twice, Adyson saw a bunch of salamanders, Ginger saw her future self, Candace saw an older Stacey, Milly saw her own doppelgänger, Holly saw Milly seeing her doppelgänger, and Katie saw a toaster."

"It was a purple toaster," Katie argued. "And everyone knows my family's toaster is violet."

"Has anyone tried making contact with these alternate selves?" I asked.

"I couldn't have," Adyson complained. "I don't speak salamander."

"My mom did," offered Gretchen.

"That doesn't count," I said. "For all we know, your mom could have been talking to herself."

"She was talking to herself," Gretchen pointed out.

"You know what I mean," I retorted.

"Isabella, something weird's going on," Candace said. "Everyone here knows it, and we know that you know it, too."

I sighed. "Today has been a little weird. I mean, Phineas actually said that it wasn't me he kissed on Monday."

"See?" Candace asked. "The world's going bonkers! And nobody knows why!"

"We'll get to the bottom of this, Candace," I assured her. "I promise."

But we couldn't get to the bottom of this. At least, not at this meeting. The best theory anyone could come up with was that a hallucinogen had been released across Danville. Or at the very least, into the air we breathed. Then we realized that nobody had actually made contact with the strange beings, so the meeting adjourned with a vow to do just that.

Which reminded me that I needed to return to Phineas's house. Ferb had probably been waiting a while for me.

So I walked towards the fence gate, and ran into a metal wall. You know, the big metal kind. It was practically impenetrable, so it made sense that I couldn't get in.

Luckily, there was a voice-sized window nearby. So I spoke into it.

"Ferb," I called. "Are you in there?"

My only response was static. Then silence. And the faint ding which usually sounded when Ferb nodded his head or gave someone a thumbs-up.

"Ferb?" I asked again.

Static.

I tried again, because Ferb often refuses to talk. "Ferb," I said. "If I'm going to stop calling you're going to have to answer."

A throat cleared, but I didn't hear it coming from inside. So I turned around, and saw...

nobody. Absolutely nobody. Which left the question: whose throat was cleared?

But that was a question for another day. Ferb had left the backyard, replaced by this big metal wall. So I turned around and left.

And tripped. Over a video camera.

I think a video camera is one of the worst objects to trip over, because chances are there now is up-close, high definition footage of the event.

But then I realized it wasn't a video camera, but a projector. Broadcasting up-close, high-definition, live-action footage of Ferb onto the big metal wall between me and the backyard.

"Ferb!" I screamed. "It's me, Isabella! Let me in!"

 _You can't come in_ , he FSL'ed. _It's a trap._

"What's a trap?"

 _The backyard._

"How is the backyard a trap?"

The projector turned off, and Ferb's face disappeared.

That was how my day went from weird to crazy.

[End proof]

* * *

The proof excerpt there would have been the first part of chapter 9. The second part would have been Baljeet's POV again, as he realized perhaps the portal's expansion had something to do with the strange goings-on worldwide. He would have rushed back to the portal, but found it not there. He would have looked everywhere for it, in vain, before running into Phineas, Gill, and two Buford's at Gill's house. After that, Gill would have entered the scene, followed shortly by Phineas and Isabella, so that there were two Phineases (same age), two Gills (same age), two Bufords (one middle school, one high school), one Isabella (middle school), and one Baljeet (high school body, middle school mind) in the same place at once. Then, and only then, would things have started to clear up.

 **Chapter 10 [Untitled]**

The Phineas who thinks he is dating Gill and the Gill who thinks she is dating Phineas meet up, and happily reunite. The other Phineas asks Isabella of they did indeed kiss on Monday, but once again, Isabella denies it. Baljeet tells everyone of his suspicion that the portal was involved, and then Gill—the one who is not dating Phineas—speaks up. She explains exactly how the portal malfunctioned, and what that ended up meaning. This is what happened: the second dimension expanded worldwide, overlaying itself upon the first dimension. Thus, both the first and the second dimension are in the same place at the same time. The Gill and Phineas who are dating happen to be from the second dimension, as is the Isabella in the room with them. The other Gill and Phineas, as well as the younger Buford and mind of the older Baljeet, are from the first.

Then Gill offers an explanation for the older people. She says that last night, she used the time machine in the museum to go back and stop herself from sabotaging the portal and causing all of this. However, she realized too late that she had no idea how to operate the device, and instead of going six hours into the past, went six years into the future. Naturally, since the time-space continuum was already extremely distorted, with two dimensions in the same place and all, instead of just Gill switching time periods, the combined dimensions switched time periods as well. So now there are first-dimension middle-schoolers, second-dimension middle schoolers, and high schoolers who are from neither the first nor the second dimension, but a sort of 1.5 dimension that combines elements of the first with elements of the second. So older Buford's presence is explained, but Baljeet is still a mystery. The good news is, Baljeet quickly manages to explain it. As it turns out, Baljeet sleeps with a special pillow that prevents him from losing his mind, so when Gill brought the future into the mix, Baljeet's future-body absorbed the mind of his past-body.

 **Chapter 11 [Untitled]**

Meanwhile, Ferb is watching the channel pi news from inside his dome of protection. Lead reporter Andy Anderson has this top story to share: everyone in the entire world is seeing their clones, and nobody knows why. At this point, Ferb looks to his left and mumbles, "This world's going crazy," to which Ferb replies, "I, for one, agree." Neither seem to notice that there are two of them under the tree.

Isabella learns that everyone is gathered at Gill's house, and makes her way over there to see the misfit crowd. Upon alerting them that Ferb has trapped himself in the backyard, the misfit crowd make their way over there. Ferb is convinced that the backyard is not a trap, and everyone enters the backyard to discuss a resolution to this conflict.

Finally, a solution is devised, the dimensions and times are separated, and by nightfall, nothing is out of the ordinary. Phineas is dismayed that despite all the wacky events, he is still under Bull E.'s control come morning, but Baljeet offers him a piece of advice.

 **Chapter 12 [Untitled] (Most likely: Live From Channel Pi)**

At school the next day, Bull orders Phineas to do something, but Phineas responds with a large word. Bull E. is frightened, and Phineas uses another big word. Eventually, he diagnoses Bull with hippopottamonstrosesquippedaliaphobia, to which Bull relinquishes his control over Phineas. It's a small victory, but Phineas, for one, is satisfied.

Then, the story ends like this:

[Proof]

"Good morning, Danville! I'm Andy Anderson, your friendly neighborhood news anchor, coming to you live from channel pi. Sitting alongside me is mister Phin Flynn, the summer seizer, the backyard builder, the triangle under the tree, the major minor, the ambitious architect, the kid constructor, the ingenious inventor, the redheaded rocket scientist, the 'yes, yes I am' guy, the—"

"Are you done yet?" Phineas asked.

"No," Andy confessed. "I got one more."

"Alright, shoot."

"The oblivious optimist," the anchor finished.

Phineas laughed. "Where'd that name come from?"

"One of your friends recommended it," Andy Anderson said.

"Which one?"

The news anchor waved another being onscreen. "Come on out, Isabella!" he called, before rifling off alliterative nicknames again.

"The semicircle sweetie, the fearless Fireside, the soulmate across the street, the happy helper, the Mexican-Jewish, the raven-haired rocket scientist, the 'whatcha doin'?' girl, the—"

"Wait, when am I supposed to cut you off?" Isabella asked.

Andy Anderson laughed. "Oh, right there's fine, Isabella."

"Okay."

"So," Andy Anderson began, getting straight to the point. "I hear you can tell us all what happened on that crazy Sunday."

"Yep," Buford affirmed, walking on stage. Baljeet and Ferb followed right behind him.

"Oh, it was a crazy day," Baljeet rambled. "But the story starts long before that."

"So when does the story start?" Andy prompted.

"I would say on the first day of school," Baljeet offered. "That is when I met Gill."

"It's also when I kissed Phineas," Isabella noted.

"And when Bull started beating him down," added Buford.

"Let's hear it all," Andy said, looking at Phineas. "Your story starts in five... four... three... two..."

Phineas took a deep breath, and began.

"'You know, it seems like school took forever to get here, and boy, am I glad it did'..."

[End proof]

Yep, the first and last paragraph of the story are one and the same, meaning that the entire story was told on the channel pi news. Therefore, the entire story is actually a flashback, and the 'none' POVs are what the characters are actually saying and doing in real time. Each first-person POV section is a different character monologuing about the events in question.

This concludes my writings and notes from Chaos Law.


	6. The Beacons, part 1

**The Beacons**

Preliminary Notes

The Beacons, if finished, would have been far and away my greatest work on this site. In fact, this story was the main reason I started writing fanfiction. But I was patient with this story. When I first joined, it wasn't ready to be published. The plot was still maturing, still expanding and improving as time passed. Eventually, progress slowed, and the entire story seemed to have come full circle. That was when I finally published the prologue. However, the more I published of this story, the more holes I seemed to find in it. I tried smoothing them out as I went along, but putting a tarp over a pit doesn't stop someone from falling in. As a result, there are many parts of the first seven or eight chapters which I would call subpar. I had plans to rewrite these chapters and update them, but only ever got around to the prologue.

[Final—unpublished]

Get behind me!" Ray screamed.

"That's not any safer!" argued Darryl, one of the few remaining nomads Ray was trying to protect.

"Just do it!" Ray insisted, slicing through a Shadow as he instructed them.

But Darryl was right. The Shadows were everywhere, surrounding them on all sides. And of the ten or so people remaining, only one—Ray—had any chance of fending off the hundreds, possibly thousands, of Shadows in the vicinity.

The nomads clumped themselves behind Ray as the Beacon shot a beam of energy out of his sword. The entire front line of Shadows found themselves beaten by this blow, but they were quickly replaced by another line.

Luckily, this motion gave Ray enough time to whip his cell phone out of his pocket and toss it to Darryl.

"There's one number in the phone," he explained. "Call it, and tell whoever answers that we need to be cleared. Now."

Ray may not be able to fend off the Shadows, but maybe—just maybe—he could escape from them.

Unfortunately, Darryl, having spent almost none of his life in Zion, was very slow at this task. These cell phones were almost like a foreign gadget to him, and it didn't help that he had to simultaneously fend off hordes of Shadows.

Ray turned around just in time to see one of the nomads stabbed through the chest. Already, the blackness was spreading across her body, giving the Shadows yet another soldier. In a single step, Ray was upon both of them, and with a single swipe of his sword, he killed both. There was no saving the nomad.

Ray looked over at the remaining nomads. A quick count showed that only six remained, seven including himself. And two were about to be killed.

"Duck!" Ray cried, aiming his sword at their heads. He fired another beam of energy, hoping that the nomads would crouch before the beams reached them.

Only one reacted fast enough. Ray cringed as the energy killed the other. Five left.

Four, Ray silently corrected, as he saw another face turn to the Shadows' hallmark black.

Darryl, fortunately, was still alive. Currently he was fumbling with the phone, trying to press the dial button.

Ray moved on. War left no time for sentiment. He estimated another three minutes before the BLADE would be able to clear him and whatever nomads he could rescue. But three minutes was a long time.

The good news was that they were not far from the trees. If they could just make it there, Ray might be able to hoist the nomads up into the branches. That would offer protection until they escaped.

"Follow me!" Ray ordered, slashing through another line of Shadows. Yet despite the many he killed, hundreds of the mindless minions remained, and now, only two nomads.

The phone was now at Darryl's ear. Ray breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that soon, help would be on the way. He cut through another Shadow, and leapt above the one lunging him from the side. A swift kick to the head ended that minion's life, though technically speaking, it wasn't a life to begin with.

They were almost at the trees now. Once above the Shadows, they could wait out the remaining minutes.

Ray heard a voice yell, "Help us!" and he knew that Darryl's call had gone through. He looked over at the nomad, and his eyes widened. One of the Shadows' swords was already through his shoulder, and judging by the size of the spread so far, he had been stabbed before he cried for help.

 _A sacrifice_ , Ray realized. Darryl was an idiot. Sacrifices were pointless against the Shadows. And who was he saving? The man who came here to save him?

Even worse, the phone was still in Darryl's possession. If the Dragon learned of the information on that phone, the war would be over immediately.

Ray glanced over at the last remaining nomad. She, too, was a dead woman. Ray had no chance of saving either her or the phone.

However, there was a solution. One Ray usually tried to avoid at all costs. Yet now, it was the only option he had left.

Ray leapt high into the air, raising his sword above his head.

"Get out!" he screamed, channeling all his energy into the tip of the sword, and bringing it down into the ground.

A blinding wave of energy whipped across the plains in all directions, destroying everything it touched. When the dust cleared, all that remains was Ray, his sword embedded in the dirt, and the hundreds of Shadows scattered across the ground, slowly dissipating into nothingness.

Ray sheathed his sword, and walked over to where Darryl had been. There, he found his phone, burnt beyond repair. He would need a replacement.

A darkness swept across the sky, but to Ray, this was a welcome one. It was the BLADE, his rescue crew. Sadly, it had come moments too late.

* * *

The first thing Ray saw in the hovercraft was the man who had answered Darryl's call: a dark-skinned, well-built man, with many scars running across his face, indicating that he had been through a lot, and was not a man you would even dare to cross.

"What happened?" the man asked.

"Fifty nomads," Ray answered. "Swarmed by Shadows. I didn't have time to call you before."

"How many Shadows?" the boss asked. He didn't need to ask if any nomads had survived; that answer was obvious.

"Hundreds," Ray told the man. "Probably closer to a thousand."

"All in one place?" the man screamed in disbelief.

Ray nodded grimly.

"Then don't feel bad about not saving any of the nomads," Ray's boss soothed. "You should count yourself lucky to have made it out alive."

This, Ray knew as well as anyone. Never before had so many Shadows been in one place.

By now, the two men had reached the conference room, where they sat down in chairs across from each other. A long period of silence followed. If the Dragon could afford to risk a thousand Shadows over fifty nomads, both wondered just how large the enemy's numbers were.

"What are we going to do now?" Ray asked.

"I don't know," replied the man. "I don't know."

Then Ray had an idea. Admittedly more of a leap of faith than a battle plan, but then again, Ray was a faithful man. Besides, at the moment, nobody had much more than an idea to go on.

"Do you think the prophecy might have something to do with this? It says, 'Should Eden fall into demise,' and we have plenty of demise at the moment."

His boss pondered this idea for a while. The prophecy was thousands of years old, dating all the way back to Isaac and Ishmael. Why should it be coming true now?

 _But then,_ the boss supposed. _The prophecy must be fulfilled eventually. Why shouldn't it be now?_

"It could be," the man decided. "I hope it is."

"Why?" Ray asked.

"Because it means we have help."

A third man chose this moment to enter the conference room holding a large stack of papers.

"The radars picked up some new activity," he said, taking a seat and sliding the papers across the table to Ray and the other man. "You're not going to believe it."

The boss picked up the papers and looked them over briefly. His informant was right: he didn't believe it.

"You found _seven_?" he gasped.

At the mention of seven, Ray's mind jumped straight to the prophecy. Maybe, just maybe...

"Gordon, do you think any could be Beacons?" he asked.

Gordon looked Ray directly in the eye. "I know what you're thinking," he told Ray. "You're thinking that this is the prophecy. And that's what we're all wondering now."

"But do you think they are Beacons?" Ray repeated.

"Initial scans say yes."

The boss turned to face Gordon. "Are you sure you saw all this on the radar?" he asked.

"Sure as I can be," came the reply.

"Then get a party out there. Now."

Ray spoke up. "Sir, let me handle this. One man draws much less attention."

"No," said the other man, who was clearly the boss of the three. "We need you here. Besides, it might be a trap. Perhaps the Dragon found some way to tamper with our radar."

"But sir," Ray argued. "I can fight as well as ten men outside the Gate."

"And as we just saw, you can fight as well as a _thousand_ men _inside_ it," replied the boss, firmly. "Face it, Ray. We need you in here."

"But what if it's the prophecy?" Ray continued. "The Shadows are bound to be on them, and I'm not sure if even our best party can hold many of them off."

"And what if it isn't?" yelled the other man. "What if it's a trick? Then you'd be outside the Gate, helpless, while The Dragon takes over in here. And after he rules Eden, you know it won't be long before the other world falls as well."

"But that's what the prophecy's about, isn't it?" asked Ray, standing up. "Seven Beacons, all at once, stopping an evil. Mr. Crook, as much as I hate to say it, I believe The Dragon is that evil. I believe that I am the Beacon to guide them. And I believe that, sooner or later, seven people will show up and save our world. Mr. Crook, that is what the prophecy says. Why shouldn't it be happening now?"

"But what if they're not the seven? What if you're not the guide? What if this is all a hoax? What then?"

Ray was silent, as Mr. Crook continued speaking.

"Ray, you're the only Beacon we have right now. We can't afford to lose you, especially at a time like this."

"And if the prophecy is coming true," Ray fought back. "Then this is an opportunity we can't afford to miss. Mr. Crook, let me go. Please. I promise I will return with them."

Mr. Crook sighed, weighing a hastened defeat against a glimmer of hope. Of course, Ray was also powerful enough that if diplomacy didn't get him his way, brute force would. After a long moment, he gave his answer.

"I'm probably going to regret this," Mr. Crook said, shaking his head. "Go ahead, Ray. Meet us at the top of Mount Firemore in two days' time."

"Sir, yes, sir!" Ray stood up, and saluted. He then turned to face Gordon. "If I'm going to find them, I'm going to need their profiles," he said.

The man handed the appropriate papers over to Ray, who promptly took them and walked out the door. He had completely forgotten about his broken cell phone.

"Looks like I need to go to Danville," Ray mumbled to himself, looking over the papers he had just been handed. "To meet a man named Phineas Flynn."

[End Final—unpublished]

* * *

I also want to cover is the overall layout of the story. The Beacons is separated into nine distinct parts. They are titled, in order, _The Discovery, The Journey, The City, The Dragon, The Villain, The Guide, The Brotherhood, The Prophecy, and The Aftermath_. The first of these nine parts is the only one which has been entirely published, ending at the end of Chapter 6 (A Confusing Orientation). To be even more general, these nine parts can be grouped into three books, which I have named _Unimaginable, Unpredictable, and Unforgettable_ , in that order. _Unimaginable_ encompasses the first four parts, _Unpredictable_ the next three, and _Unforgettable_ the final two. Taken together, these will make up the story known as _The Beacons._

I believe that covers all the preliminary information you need to know. Now, let's get into my summary of the remainder of the plot. Next chapter. Like I said, there's a lot of details for the Beacons. A _lot_.


	7. The Beacons, part 2

**Be ready for a lot of reading.**

[Proof]

 **Chapter 15: Civilization**

"Well, Buford," said Phineas, "You sure can run fast."

"Yeah," agreed Isabella. "If you could only look and listen with equal skill, you'd be unstoppable."

The children were joking—at Buford's expense—of how the bully had somehow not seen them outside the city walls, nor heard them call his name, when running to the entrance.

Buford, too, was laughing. He had missed these moments, and was glad to have them back again. He found it amazing how, oftentimes, it is the little things which seem to matter the most.

"So what've you two been up to?" Buford asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively. A lot can happen in two days, especially when teenagers are left alone.

Isabella noticed this, and so, too, did a much more aware Phineas. The boy supposed that he had always noticed these sort of remarks before, but had never quite made the connection.

The girl, however, assumed that the boy had glazed right over it.

"Nothing much," she answered quickly. "Just making up fairy tales, inexplicably teleporting somewhere else, and walking here."

"Fairy tales?" Phineas asked, curious.

"Magical stories," Isabella explained. "Like the one I keep finding myself in the middle of."

"That wasn't a fourth wall break," she added quickly.

"Ah," said Phineas in realization. "So why, after such a long journey together, am I only hearing about this now?"

"You weren't listening," Isabella explained. "Or talking. I thought you wanted a silent walk."

Now, Buford felt like teasing. "Phineas? Silent? The only way those two words go together is with a 'Ferb' in between."

"You haven't seen him, have you?" asked Phineas, prepared for the response. "Ferb, I mean."

"Not since the crash," Buford confirmed. "No sign of Baljeet, Irving, Django, or Ray either. Just you two and Mr. Crook."

"Have you been looking?" Phineas asked, worried for his friends.

"Mr. Crook says he sent parties. But he won't let me leave the city limits until I've been 'minimally trained.'"

"Minimally trained?" Isabella asked.

"They designed a program to make me the best I can be," Buford explained. "They'll make one for both of you, as well. I have to pass level ten to be allowed to look for them myself."

"That's ridiculous!" Phineas cried. "They're our friends! We should be allowed to look for them ourselves!"

For some reason, Buford felt a need to defend Mr. Crook's methods. "Getting started's the only hard part," he explained. "I'm already at level eight after a day and a half of training."

"Well, I'm not waiting that long to get to level ten," protests Phineas. "I haven't found a single thing to eat—flower or otherwise—in two days! I can't stand the thought of going any longer!"

"You haven't eaten?" Isabella gasped.

"What was there to?" asked Phineas.

"The fruits on the trees," Isabella began, followed quickly by, "Oh... those were on the islands. You must be hungry."

It was also the first time that Buford had acknowledged this.

"You need to eat, Phineas," he said bluntly. "C'mon! I'll get you something!"

Not long afterwards, Phineas, Isabella, and Buford were situated around a table in Buford's assigned living quarters, each enjoying their own colorful salad of flower petals.

"So, Buford," Phineas said between mouthfuls. "You seem to know what's going on here. Can we have the play-by-play?"

"What do you already know?" Buford asked.

"Everything until we put our hands on that dumpster."

Buford took a deep breath, and began his monologue.

"That portal we went through is called the Gate. From what I understand, it's an energy field of sorts, and the few people who can access it are whipped into this land. Eden, they call it, after the Bible story."

"Oh, so like an alternate dimension?" Isabella interrupted.

"I think so. But the Gate also allows for teleportation across Eden, if you're in the right place."

"And can you control your destinations with that?" Phineas asked.

"That's easy, if you can picture where you're going," explained Buford.

Phineas looked at Isabella. "Well, that'll explain your mysterious appearance, but why were you thinking of a desert?"

Oh, dear, worried Isabella, who had no idea Phineas was aware of... certain things. How do I talk my way out of this?

"I... I was on a deserted island," Isabella attempted. "Maybe the energy field misinterpreted me. That can happen, right Buford?"

To make sure Buford affirmed her statement, Isabella gave the bully a sharp kick under the table.

Not surprisingly, Buford subsequently affirmed Isabella's statement.

"I don't see why not," he said. "Anyways, scientists here discovered two new types of genes we haven't found back on Earth. There's PNA and there's HNA. Both are concealed within DNA, but they also allow us to access the Gate. Anybody with more PNA than they have DNA can get to Eden and back, and that's about a hundredth of the world. But the HNA is what makes people really special. HNA gives us the ability to do all sorts of crazy things. All those weird things you could do with your body that other people couldn't was because of HNA. People with enough HNA are the 'Beacons' Ray mentioned, and the experts say that there is maybe one Beacon for every million people able to cross the Gate."

At this point, Phineas jumped in again.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," he told Buford. "But Isabella cracking the ground on the mountain was because she is a Beacon?"

Buford nodded, so Phineas continued.

"And we're all Beacons because we are eight of seventy-five people worldwide who have enough HNA content within us?"

Buford nodded again.

"All right," Phineas said, inhaling another bite of his dinner. "I'm following this so far. Please, Buford, continue."

"This city, Zion, is the only city in all of Eden," Buford continued. "Nothing happens without this city knowing about it."

"So this city knows that the BLADE crashed," Phineas reasoned. "They know that our friends have been missing for two days."

"Mr. Crook has sent out search parties," Buford verified.

"Where?" Phineas asked. "Because I walked right up to these city walls and there wasn't a search party in sight."

"Maybe the search party went in a different direction," Buford reasoned.

"How many ways into Zion are there?" Phineas asked. "I only know of one entrance."

"There is only one," Buford confirmed. "But the desert where you two came from, the beach where Mr. Crook and I came from, and the forest all meet at that one entrance.

"Well, search the forest!" Phineas cried. "It's the only place left!"

"There's a whole lotta land beyond the forest," argued Buford.

"Yeah, but all roads lead to Zion eventually, right?" Phineas retorted. "It's the only city: it has to be this way. If they're not searching the forest, they might as well not send search parties."

"They probably are searching the forest," Buford decided.

Phineas stood up from the table. "Then let's go with them."

"Why?"

"They're our friends, Buford. I'm not just gonna leave them out there forever."

"You can't leave the city!" Buford complained. "It's dangerous out there!"

"Says who?" asked Phineas.

"Everyone!" Buford replied. "You saw the army at the foot of the mountain! Do you want to run into that again?"

"Do you want to leave our friends for dead?" Phineas's scream was followed by a moment of absolute silence.

"Come on," he said, his voice much calmer. "We're sneaking out."

"Where?" Isabella asked.

"Out of Zion," replied Phineas. "To the forest. That's where our friends are, right?"

"I never knew there was a rebel inside you," Isabella said coyly.

"We're teenagers," Phineas replied, equally witty. "Aren't we supposed to have this rebellious streak? Time's wasting, let's go."

He made for the door, but stopped when nobody followed.

"Isabella? Buford? You coming?" he asked.

"Yeah," Isabella replied, walking over towards Phineas. "I just needed a moment."

"Buford?" Phineas asked. "That leaves you."

Buford grumbled. "I guess someone's gonna have to keep you safe out there."

He trudged over to the group, and together they left the apartment.

* * *

 **Chapter 16: United**

Isabella peeked around the corner. She looked both ways, and, confirming that the road was clear, ran across the street to the next building. Then, waving her friends over, played lookout as they crossed to her.

The trio turned one final corner to come within sight of the gate out of Zion.

Not seeing anyone, Phineas started to race to the exit, but Buford restrained him.

"There's always a guard in that tower," he pointed out. "You won't see him, but go any closer and he will see you."

"So how do we get out?" Phineas asked.

Buford looked up, and Phineas and Isabella followed his gaze.

"You can't seriously mean—" Isabella started.

"Yep," Buford affirmed. "We're scaling the wall."

The inside of the city was the easy part. A ladder, invisible to the guard, was available to get onto the top of the wall. It's how the patrol used to get up and down.

The tricky part was getting down safely on the other side. The city walls were at least twenty feet high.

"Great thinking, Buford," said Phineas sarcastically. "Now we can get out and break a leg."

"We can't jump," Isabella agreed. "So what's your plan on getting down?"

"It's simple," Buford told them. "Just watch."

To demonstrate his brilliant plan, Buford leapt over the wall.

Phineas gasped. "Buford!" he screamed, running over to the side of the wall. He and Isabella gazed helplessly as their friend fell quickly towards the solid ground.

Now, falling twenty feet gives people a lot of time to reflect on what they just did and what they should do next. However, Buford already had an idea. Moments from contact, he tucked his head into his stomach. Then he braced his arms for their scheduled meeting with the dirt. When he connected with the ground, Buford allowed his arms to absorb much of the impact, but pushed off with them before they could sustain too much damage. The momentum pulled Buford's legs over his head, and the bully did a somersault, spreading the force of the impact across his body so that no one part was too severely injured. Finally, he stood up, unharmed, and spread his arms in a T, showing off to his friends.

Rather than applaud, Phineas and Isabella merely breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now you jump!" Buford called from the ground. "I'll catch you!"

Phineas and Isabella looked at each other. Both wanted to get down, but neither wanted to leap.

"I'll go first," Isabella decided. She was, after all, the one with a track record of athleticism and bravery. Thus, she hoisted herself over the guardrail.

True to his word, Buford caught the girl before she hit the ground, the sudden force of her weight easily supported by Buford's now-superhuman strength. Then, Phineas—after a few deep breaths—also jumped, and landed safely in Buford's arms.

"Hey, Buford?" Phineas said.

Buford turned to face his friend.

"That was actually pretty cool, what you did there," Phineas admitted with a smile. "And thanks for catching me."

"What are friends for?" Buford asked in reply. "If not to fall into each other's arms?"

All three laughed at that. Isabella more awkwardly than the others.

"Come on," said Phineas, leading the way. "We have some other friends to find."

The plan, of course, was to search the forest, find everyone, be happy, return to Zion, and then look further ahead. To a minimalist, the plan worked wonderfully. After all, if a group of three is looking for a group of four, and this group of four is particularly noisy, locating each other should not be to hard, regardless of the surrounding environment.

So, while Phineas, Isabella, and Buford had a hard time looking for their friends, it was not long before their ears picked up the distinctive noise.

"Do you hear that?" Buford asked.

"Hear what?" replied Isabella.

Holding out a hand to silence his companions, Buford held still for a moment. The footsteps on the fallen leaves rang clear through the undergrowth.

Buford nodded. "That. It sounds like people."

Phineas tilted his head, a sliver of hope showing itself in the shape of a smile. "Let's go check it out."

He led his friends toward the mystery sound, moving branches and leaves and, quite frankly, making a racket of his own as he trudged towards the noise. Isabella and Buford followed closely behind.

Peering through one last set of leaves, Phineas' suspicions were confirmed.

"Baljeet!" he cried. "Irving! Django! Even you, Ray!"

Among the other group, it was Django who first replied.

"Phineas!" he screamed. Then, seeing more bodies behind him, added, "Isabella! Buford!"

Whoops and hollers echoed through the trees, swaying the branches as everyone greeted each other. It was as if they were meeting for the first time ever, and in light of recent events, they might as well have been. Each of the seven felt like an entirely different person than the one they had been just two days ago.

Sitting in a circle, the group recounted their adventures while separated. They rejoiced in the presence of their friends, and nothing could come between the intimate friendship within the circle. A new verse of their song was even sung to seal the deal.

 _It took too long, but now, through song, we celebrate a high_

 _Our friends are found, now safe and sound, I think that I might cry_

 _United here in love and cheer, we reach towards the sky_

 _In peace and war, for evermore, we're friends until we die_

But the happiness ended almost as quickly as it began, when Phineas asked the all-important question.

"Where's Ferb?"

A silence suddenly fell upon the group. Nobody was able to answer his question. At least, not without making things worse.

Ray had a feeling he knew where Ferb was, and there was a reason he told no one about it. His fault, however, was in not being inconspicuous enough.

"Ray?" Phineas asked. "Is there something you're not telling us?"

There were many secrets Ray was not telling the kids. Some of which he could never feel comfortable telling anyone. But he knew Phineas was just searching for information concerning his stepbrother.

"It's... not good," Ray admitted.

"Not much has been," Phineas countered. "Now, what do you know about Ferb?"

Ray pulled something out of his pocket and showed it to the group. A purple strap, the kind that would slip over the shoulders. One end, obviously a buttonhole, and the other end frayed stitching, torn off the larger article of clothing. Stuck to the strap were some green locks of hair.

"I found this where the BLADE crashed," Ray confessed. "I— I don't think he made it."

This was, of course, what Phineas had feared. But the weight of the information still crushed him. So naturally, his first reaction was denial.

"Ferb can't be dead," Phineas said, trying to sound confident. "It couldn't have killed him."

"Phineas," Baljeet—ever the logician—reasoned. "We fell ten thousand feet out of the sky. It is a miracle all of us are still alive."

"Why can't miracles happen to Ferb, as well?!" the redhead shot back. "He deserves one more than most!"

Silence was the only response to this,

"Luck was just not on his side," Ray decided. "I'm sorry, Phineas. I tried."

"Sorry for what?" retorted Phineas.

"For everything," Ray admitted, tears growing in his eyes. "You know I wish it didn't have to be this way."

"Then you shouldn't have made it this way."

"What choice did I have?!" cried Ray. "What else could I have done?!"

"You know what you could've done," explained Phineas. "You could've told us the truth from the start. At least that way I would have been aware of the danger I was in."

"Actually, Phineas," Buford mused. "Ray might be right. _Their first plight, through a land so vast_ , remember?"

"No," Phineas confessed.

"It's the prophecy," the bully lectured. " _Should Eden fall into demise, then seven Beacons, at once, shall rise. Their first plight, through a land so vast_."

Isabella chuckled. "Well, between this forest, my islands, Phineas's desert, Buford's city, Baljeet and Django's ice ocean, the Dragon's lair, and Ray and Irving's village and catacombs, as well as the field, river, cave, and the mountain we all shared before that, we've definitely traveled through a 'land so vast.' Consider our first plight fulfilled."

Phineas was skeptical. "How does this apply to Ferb?"

"Well," Buford reasoned. "Judging by what happened since, it seems we were destined to be separated like that. I think falling out of the sky was unavoidable."

"You think the prophecy predicted Ferb's death?"

"I never said he was dead," Buford argued. "Maybe he's just exploring his own part of Eden."

Phineas mulled over this thought for a moment. "Yeah," he agreed optimistically. "Ferb's just lost somewhere we haven't been. I'm sure of it."

But there was no time for further discussion, as the shrill sound of a phone ringing suddenly pierced the air.

Buford jumped. "That'll be Mr. Crook," he explained, reaching for his belt. "He gives us all phones so he can reach us at any time. Probably wants to know where I ran off to."

The bully slipped the phone off his belt, and held it to his ear. Undoubtedly Mr. Crook would be furious. But Buford had an ace up his sleeve. He had found what numerous search parties hadn't: his friends.

Much to the teenager's surprise, however, Mr. Crook was not furious. Quite the opposite, in fact. He seemed almost... _desperate_.

"Get back to Zion," Mr. Crook commanded. "The Shadows are invading."

* * *

 **Chapter 17: The Pillar Of Eden**

Mr. Crook spoke the truth. The Shadows were invading Zion. But his voice came nowhere close to conveying the total chaos and anarchy which came with such an attack. His Shadows were everywhere, storming the gates of Zion from all sides.

The seven—that is, Phineas, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford, Irving, Django, and Ray—reached the city just in time to see the gate give in a massive explosion. With such a hole ripped open, Shadows were streaming into the city by the hundreds. And still traffic was slow. Any and all strategy looked to be pointless, so large was the Dragon's army. But at least Ray was determined.

"We won't go down without a fight. Zion has a reputation as an unbreakable stronghold."

"That's what they said about the Titanic," Isabella worried.

"The Titanic was man-made," Ray countered. "Zion is more than that."

"Made by more than men?" Isabella asked, confused.

"It's the Pillar of Eden," Ray explained. "It was built by the world itself."

As if to prove Ray's point, a thunderous boom echoed from within the city walls, and waves of Shadows were sent flying backwards out of the city.

"I see your point," Isabella said, not feeling any safer.

"We have to help," Phineas decided. "But I don't know how."

"Helping is easy," replied Ray, clenching his fist. "You just walk in there and find as many ways as possible to hurt the Shadows while simultaneously avoiding any harm to yourself. It's a two-step process."

"Sounds good to me," Buford said, as the seven of them watched another explosion send a few hundred more Shadows sailing over the wall.

...and freeze in midair.

"Uh-oh," Ray muttered.

The seven continued to watch as the Shadows stopped flying backwards, and turned around, retracing their flight path back into the city.

"What was that?" Irving asked.

Ray knew. "Change of plans," he said. "You guys stay here. If any Shadows come near, make sure they go through Buford first. I'm going in alone."

"Why?" Irving asked, a question echoed mutually by his compatriots.

"It's not just the Shadows invading," Ray answered. "It's the Dragon."

Ray left without another word, giving the others no time to protest his orders. He leapt high into the air, and clenched his fist. Then, aiming for the middle of the pack of Shadows, he brought the sword down.

"Get OUT!" he screamed. His sword made contact with the ground, and sent a wave of energy outwards in a circle, dealing some serious damage to the Shadows. Ray then headed toward the city, slicing through every Shadow he could along the way and adding yet another verse the song which told his story.

 _Whene'er I see the misery the Dragon with him brought_

 _Then to the end I will defend the goodness I have sought_

 _And with my life I draw the knife to fight which must be fought_

 _I will contain the Dragon's reign 'til I'm reduced to naught_

For a while, it looked as if staying behind the action was keeping Buford, Phineas, Isabella, Baljeet, Irving, and Django out of sight. Not that they all liked it.

"They're not gonna win this on their own," Phineas said. "We may not know what we can do, nor how we can do it, but if we get in there we may be able to use our abilities as Beacons to turn the tide in our favor."

"Phineas, that's suicide," Buford argued. "You'll get yourself killed before you even reach the city."

"And we'll get ourselves killed if we stay here!" Phineas screamed passionately. "They'll take the city, then they'll turn around and take us."

"They do not even see us yet!" Baljeet argued. "We could run and hide. Find a way back to Earth."

"If they don't see us, then that group over there must simply be a bunch of cowards, running from the fight," Phineas pointed out.

Everyone looked, and saw what Phineas did. A small group of Shadows (meaning a meager fifty or so) who stood no chance of making it into the city through all that traffic had noticed the six of them, and had broken off from the rest in pursuit.

"We'll outrun 'em," Buford determined, starting to head in the opposite direction.

"They'll catch us," replied Phineas. "Our only choice is to stand and fight."

"Our only choice is to run," Isabella retorted. "If we fight, we'll lose. Phineas, I don't want you getting hurt."

"Why, because you love me?!" yelled Phineas, outraged.

A moment of stunned silence followed. "Ooh," Irving said, hoping to bring a lighter mood to the crowd.

It didn't work. Everyone ignored him.

"Who told you," Isabella demanded.

"Your singing did," responded Phineas, angrily. Then, switching to a higher-pitched voice, mocked Isabella by singing off key: "That's all that I want, you see... is youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu—"

"Save the bickering for later, lovebirds," Buford said. "I got us a compromise. We run that way." He pointed in a direction parallel to the city. "We lure the a Shadows over there, then spring one of the traps and hope it works."

The bully did not wait for a response. He ran, making sure to go slow enough that the other could keep up.

"This isn't over," Isabella warned. Then she turned and chased Buford, followed closely by everyone else.

* * *

The Dragon was enjoying himself. Fighting was easy when he was immensely stronger than everyone else. He meandered through the crowds of people, friends and enemies alike, picking off people at will. He would snap his fingers, and one person would erupt into flames. A quick glance at another combatant paralyzed him indefinitely. And, because he had nothing better to do, the Dragon sang.

 _All my life_

 _I've been living with a knife_

 _Held between my teeth; on the edge of insanity_

 _I've been waiting for someone to set me free_

 _I've shed my tears_

 _And I've bested all my fears_

 _I've gone out and conquered the world over once again_

 _At the top of the heap, but in the lion's den_

 _And in the distance_

 _I hear them singing_

 _And it goes like:_

 _Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na_

 _Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na_

 _Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na (Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na) Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na_

 _..._

 _I am ultimate temptation_

 _If you dare to hesitate_

 _I am heartless devastation_

 _Fueled by the world's hate_

 _I am evil inspiration_

 _Burning down a perfect nation_

 _And I see no vindication_

 _For the Beacons are too late_

 _..._

 _I am chaos, I am death_

 _I watch you take your final breath_

 _I have no motive, just desire_

 _I have no match, but a roaring fire_

 _I am evil, Lord of all_

 _Consuming everyone who calls_

 _I am catastrophic blaze_

 _I am the Dragon, count your days_

 _..._

 _Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na_

 _Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na_

 _Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na (Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na) Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na_

 _..._

 _From my hand_

 _Comes cataclysmic wonderland_

 _Without rhyme, without reason, I have a goal_

 _Yet deep down, I suspect I'm not in control_

 _I've done my part_

 _I've torn open Eden's heart_

 _Triumph is an imminent certainty worldwide_

 _Yet I think there's a force unidentified_

 _And in the distance_

 _I hear him singing_

 _And it goes like:_

 _Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na_

 _Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na_

 _Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na (Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na) Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na_

 _..._

 _I am darkness, home of nightmares_

 _For the few who dare to dream_

 _I am scourge to those who do care_

 _Shattering the brightest gleam_

 _I have sent to you my forebears_

 _Now I strike from in my lair_

 _And I'll catch them unaware_

 _Winning instantly, it seems_

 _..._

 _I am chaos, I am death_

 _I watch you take your final breath_

 _I have no motive, just desire_

 _I have no match, but a roaring fire_

 _I am evil, lord of all_

 _Consuming everyone who calls_

 _I am catastrophic blaze_

 _I am the Dragon, count your days_

 _..._

 _I came to see my sweet_

 _Watch him kneel and beg for mercy_

 _I bask in his defeat_

 _Knowing nobody can stop me_

 _I came to see my sweet_

 _Watch him kneel and beg for mercy_

 _I bask in his defeat_

 _Knowing nobody can stop me_

 _I am chaos, you have lost_

* * *

Ray heard the singing, and followed it. He needed to confront the singer. Sure, it was probably a suicide mission, but how else would they win?

Before long, he found the source. And it was standing at the other end of the road, with nobody in between.

"Scott!" Ray screamed.

The Dragon turned around, and saw Ray. "I don't know anybody by that name," he replied.

"You say you don't, but I know it's you," Ray said. "I haven't given up on you yet."

The Dragon laughed. "Hope!" he cried. "By far the most pointless of emotions! It only serves to blind you from reality! Submit to me now, and I will make your death painless."

Ray raised his sword in defiance.

"Very well, then," said the Dragon. He then summoned a pillar of fire from the sky, sending it down on top of Ray.

Ray was quick. He lifted his sword above his head, using it to absorb all the energy from the blaze. He then pointed it at the Dragon, and released.

The flames swept over the Dragon, and should have burned him to a crisp. But when the fire dissipated, the Dragon emerged unscathed.

"Come on, Ray," he said. "Forgetting that I'm immune to fire? It's like you don't even know me! I thought we were closer than that!"

"I don't know you," Ray replied. "Not anymore."

The teenager attacked, swinging his sword at the Dragon in a furious assault. The Dragon defended, growing in size willing his arm to morph into a scaly wing, and parrying the blows without effort. After a few short moments, the Dragon had completed his own transformation, and become, quite fittingly, a dragon.

Ray trembled. That was a new one. A few slashes with his sword confirmed that no blade could pierce his enemy's hide. So he attacked by shooting bolts of energy, which were just too easily evaded. The dragon may be big, but it was also incredibly agile, twisting and turning around every obstacle in its way.

Before long, Ray adopted a new tactic. He ran. The Dragon chased him throughout Zion, breathing fire and laying waste to the city as he hunted his target. Occasionally his talons would scrape against the ground, creating sparks and leaving its own fiery trail behind it. Ray tried turning sharp corners, hoping to buy himself a few extra seconds that way, but once again the dragon was equally adept at the task. Ray only had one more trick up his sleeve.

Without warning, he leapt into the air, above the Dragon. Then, sword-first, he aimed for the creature's back. The target area was so big it would be hard to miss.

Yet once again, Ray was outsmarted by his opponent. The Dragon morphed back into his natural, human form, and the backside Ray had been aiming for disappeared. Spinning around, he sent a column of fire at Ray, giving the boy just enough time to block with his sword.

However, the fire provided an excellent smokescreen, and by the time Ray could see in front of him again, the Dragon was already upon him. Desperately, Ray tried to defend against the onslaught, but the longer he fought, the more hopeless the situation became. He blocked a blow on his left, and another one came on his right. He sidestepped that one, and walked into a burning patch of ground. He tried to leap away from the fight, and the Dragon would catch his leg and bring him back down.

A fire formed on the ground beneath Ray, causing the boy to jump into the air above it. When he did so, the Dragon grabbed him and threw him into a nearby building, bringing the foundation down on top of him. Ray had just enough time to form a shield over his head and deflect the falling debris away from him, but by then a ring of fire had materialized, and he was trapped in the middle.

Slowly, inevitably, the Dragon walked towards Ray. There was nothing he could do about it. Nothing could stop what was about to happen next.

"Hey!"

The sudden intrusion piqued the Dragon's curiosity. He turned around, and was surprised by what he saw. Even Ray wasn't expecting to see what he did.

Standing at the nearest intersection were seven people: Phineas, Isabella, Buford, Baljeet, Irving, Django, and Mr. Crook.

"I suggest you surrender," Mr. Crook warned. "You can't beat all of us."

The Dragon laughed. "And what makes you think that? Ray I already beat, you aren't a Beacon, and the others don't even know what they can do."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Mr. Crook replied. "You saw what happened on the mountain."

"That was a fluke," the Dragon explained. "It happens to everyone."

"You want to take that chance?" Crook asked.

The Dragon smiled. "Happily."

He quickly started advancing towards the seven newcomers, morphing into a dragon as he did so.

Then suddenly, the Dragon fell. Ray saw his opportunity, and seized it with aplomb, pouncing on the Dragon and pinning him to the ground, caught between forms and thus unable to do anything else.

Mr. Crook raised his eyebrows. He actually looked mildly impressed.

The Dragon fought back furiously. He roared and attempted everything in his power to escape, but Ray held him down firmly, his sword pressed against the Dragon's throat.

Yet the Dragon continued to smile. "Go ahead," he challenged. "Kill me. End this war now. Give everyone the happy ending they deserve. It'll be easy."

Ray raised his sword, ready to strike at the Dragon and put an end to the devastating war. At the top, he hesitated, giving the Dragon time to speak any last words he might have. But the Dragon refused to talk. He had said all he needed to. So Ray swung.

And missed.

The Dragon took full advantage. He sensed the tiniest relaxation in Ray's grip, and used that to complete his transformation into a dragon. "I knew you couldn't kill me," he roared ominously.

Then, with inhuman speed, he wrestled his way out of Ray's grasp, and took to the skies, retreating out of Zion. The Shadows all followed him, and within minutes, the city was clear, the only sign that an enemy was ever here being the swaths of destruction it left in its wake.

For a moment, everyone was too stunned to speak. Then Phineas spoke, his voice laced with all the anger and rage built up inside him.

"Why didn't you kill him? Why didn't you end the war right here, right now? You could've brought peace to everyone, but you didn't! What happened?"

Ray replied quietly. "How could I kill my own brother?"

* * *

 **Chapter 18: A Darkened Past**

"The Dragon is your _brother_?" Phineas asked, incredulous.

"Yes. No!" Ray answered. "It's– it's a long story."

He looked at Mr. Crook, who nodded. "They need to know," he said.

So Ray confessed his story.

* * *

 _Ever since I was young I knew I was... special. Different. Though that's not the word people used back then. The words they used were more like Strange. Freak. Abomination._

 _The first time it happened, I was six. I was using the monkey bars at the playground, when I slipped and fell. I only fell a couple feet, but when I landed, something must have happened. I found myself in the middle of a giant crater, as if a meteor had struck the earth and left me behind. There were no more monkey bars; there was no more playground. All that remained were the swings on the opposite side of the park, rocking back and forth even though nobody was on them._

 _I hurt nine other kids that time, and luckily none of them died. But of those nine, four are now amputees, one is deaf, two are blind, and two are paralyzed, and all nine have some physical deformity on top of that, all because of the first accident._

 _The good news was, I grew up in rural Kansas. One of those small towns, cut off from the rest of society. So none of my mishaps ever made the news. Nothing ever happened out there, according to the world. Obviously, they were wrong._

 _That wasn't the only accident, either. A year after that, I was chasing my dog through a field, and when you're out in the middle of nowhere, the grasses grow taller than you, and stretch as far as the eye can see. Anyways, I was running, and I noticed a burning smell behind me. I turned around, and the entire meadow was on fire. It took days, and the state fire department, to extinguish the flames. Five homes were destroyed, and they never told me how many were injured._

 _It happened again in the third grade. Some kid started a fight with me, and I fought back. I punched him in the stomach, and he started bleeding. Badly. It was as if I had stabbed him with a knife, and cut deep. They rushed him to the ER, where he spent the next week, hanging onto life by a thread. They told me he survived the accident, but to be honest, I never saw him again after that._

 _As I continued to grow older, the accidents gradually became more violent. When I was ten, my best friend Tommy and I were playing basketball outside. He drove past me, and jumped for an easy layup. I leapt desperately in an attempt to block him, and it worked too well. I leapt into him, crushing him with what felt like the full force of a freight train. He landed on his head. Hard. He never woke up._

 _After that, I didn't make any other friends. Nobody wanted to be near me, and frankly, I didn't want to be near them, either. I feared I might hurt them. Maybe even kill them, like I did Tommy._

 _It didn't help anything, though. I was still a freak who couldn't control himself. The outcast of the neighborhood. The accidents kept on happening to me. It's not like I didn't try to stop them, either. After Tommy died, I realized how bad things were getting. I realized that if I couldn't stop myself or learn to control this, more people would end up dead. And I knew I would never be able to control myself. So I went with the other option—stopping myself._

 _I climbed up onto the roof of my house, and jumped. Perhaps I wasn't thinking straight at the time—and in hindsight, I absolutely wasn't—but everything seemed crystal clear in my head. I'd already destroyed five homes, injured ten people, and killed one more on top of that. I was a serial killer in the making, and that was something I didn't want to be. Anyone I ever grew close to again would almost certainly end up dead like Tommy, and anyone who had ever met me had a high chance of getting sent to the ER. The only option I had left was suicide!_

 _I don't know why, but I was expecting to die the moment I hit the ground. It didn't happen like that. I sustained some serious injuries, but I didn't die. Don't ask me what injuries I sustained, though. Even I don't know that._

 _My older brother, Scott, heard me hit the ground, and he ran outside to meet me. He asked—no, demanded—to know what I had done to hurt myself that badly, but I didn't feel like talking. He was about to scream for my parents, but then the weirdest thing happened. My injuries started healing themselves. Scott watched, as much in awe of this as I was. My body continued healing at its rapid rate, and moments later, it was as if I had never jumped off that roof._

 _That was the day I realized just how important Scott was in my life. I spent a lot of time thinking that night, and noticed that with every new accident, Scott was the only one who didn't grow more scared of me. Everyone else—friends, teachers, classmates, even my parents—were genuinely afraid of me, and I wasn't doing anything to lessen that fear. But not Scott. Scott was the opposite—he became more and more sympathetic. That night, I realized Scott cared about me even more than my parents. It was he, not mom and dad, who was there to comfort me after an accident. Where mom and dad told me to control my outbursts, Scott told me that it wasn't my fault. Where mom and dad berated me, trying to find out how I did these things, and why I did these things, Scott admitted that nobody had any idea what was happening to me, and that we could work together, not against each other, to find out. When I was up in my room crying over what was happening to me, it was Scott, not mom and dad, who brought me a plate of dinner. Mom and dad cowered in fear, Scott held me tight and reassured me that he was there._

 _After that night, my greatest fear was that I would do something to Scott. My greatest fear now is that I did._

 _Of course, just because Scott was there to ease my pain didn't make it any less frequent. The mistakes kept occurring, the rate of them picking up to a relentless speed. By the time I left for Eden, they were happening on average once a month. But Scott was still there, and that was all that mattered._

 _I was thirteen when Mr. Crook found me. He just walked in one day with the rest of the search party, as if he had all the authority in the world. He told me I was special, and that was the first time someone other than Scott used that word to describe me. Mr. Crook said he knew what I had done in the past, and furthermore, he had answers. Explanations. However, in order to hear those explanations, I would need to go with him._

 _The only reason I didn't want to go with him was because he said Scott couldn't come. But to me, that was reason enough. I told him that either Scott goes with me, or I don't go at all. Surprisingly, Mr. Crook relented, and allowed Scott to tag along._

 _He took us to Eden, and explained how I was a Beacon. He put me into training, and before long, I was able to do what I thought never could be done: control myself. It was in Eden that I finally learned how to smile. I was no longer scared of myself, or of hurting other people. I was happy. What's more, I was famous, in a good way for once. People looked up to me, saw who I was and appreciated that. Everybody praised me, loved me. And I loved that. I got all the attention, and quickly rose to positions of power in Eden. I guess I was too busy enjoying myself to notice what was happening to Scott._

 _Truthfully, I didn't even notice Scott was changing. Mr. Crook told me afterwards that he wasn't strong enough to go to Eden, that he couldn't resist the evil energy in this land, stop it from corrupting him. But I didn't notice any of that. Really. Until that day, just over a year and a half ago, when he snapped. But from the moment he set foot in Eden until then, he was the same Scott I had come to know. The one I looked up to, the one I trusted. The loving older brother who I could always count on to be there for me, and protect me from anything he could._

 _I still remember my last conversation with him before he turned into the Dragon. I was talking about going on a hunt, for fun._

 _I asked him if he knew of the ice plains. He nodded, and I told him that Gordon detected an Aberration there. He wanted to know if I was planning on hunting it, and when I told him I was, he asked if he could tag along. I said he could, but that we were leaving at nine sharp the next day. "That early?" he groaned. Scott was never a morning person, but he never passed up a good hunt. I smiled, and said I would see him then._

 _Of course, the next morning, I didn't see Scott. I delayed the takeoff for half an hour, waiting for him to get on the BLADE, but he didn't show. I didn't like it, but we left without him._

 _So we got to the ice plains, and I started searching for the Aberration with my team. Gordon's sensors said the Aberration lived beneath the ice, so we never considered the possibility of getting attacked from above. But that was where the attack came from._

 _Grace was the unlucky victim. We heard her scream, and turned around to find her getting burned to a crisp. The resulting pile of ashes melted through the ice and fell into the water. Then Scott landed on the ice._

 _"Scott!" I screamed. I had no idea what had become of him, so I was glad to see him there._

 _"What was that?" I asked. "A dragon?"_

 _"Dragon," he mused. "Hmm... I suppose it could have been. I like that name, Ray. I think I'll use it."_

 _"What are you talking about?" I wondered. "Did a dragon burn Grace?"_

 _"I burned Grace," my brother confessed. "Burned her to a crisp. I've had enough of you, Ray. You've always been the special one. Every single day, it was all about you. You were the one who hurt all those people, and killed all those others. You were the one who burned down all those houses. And then when we got to Eden, it was still all about you! You were the Beacon who was more powerful than everyone else. You were the one who rose to instant fame. You were the one the SCAR gave the Medal of Honor to. You, you, you, you, you! Did you ever even think about me?"_

 _I protested: "Scott, I—"_

 _"You what?" he yelled. "Loved me? Helped me? When did you ever do that? All you did was ask me to help you. You neglected me, just like the rest of Eden."_

 _I tried getting my argument in. "You're my brother, Scott," was all I could manage to say before he cut me off again._

 _"Scott Hawkridge is dead!" he screamed. "You said it yourself: I am the Dragon."_

 _I watched, helpless as the man next to me erupted into flames._

 _"But now I'm special, too," Scott continued. "See? I have powers. I'm like you now, only better. Soon the world will bow down before me."_

 _Behind me, I heard my friend Peter mumble, "All right, I've had enough of this crap." He lunged at the Dragon, covering the distance in a single step. But my brother didn't even have to try. He stuck his hand out, and watched it sink right into Peter's chest, immerse itself entirely in his body. When he pulled his hand out, Peter was... different._

 _"Interesting," the Dragon mused. Peter promptly turned around and attacked me, completely blind to any reason or alternate cause. I defended furiously, not wanting to kill Peter, but also not wanting to get hurt._

 _"Dispense with the sentimentality," Scott said. "He's but a shadow of his former self."_

 _He was right, too. Peter didn't even look like Peter. He looked like if his silhouette wore clothes. Then Scott went ahead and did this to the rest of my team, and watched as I was forced to kill every single one of them. Then he attacked me himself. There was no way I could defeat him on the ice there, so I escaped by diving into the hole left behind from the ashes of my burnt friends. After that, well, it's been war ever since._

* * *

"... and that's my story," Ray said. "Maybe now you'll understand better where I come from."

Unable to think of anything better to say, Irving uttered a tune:

 _The hidden truth, a darkened youth where Good and Evil tread_

 _Two brothers dear, one there, one here, wind up in Eden's bed_

 _One branded saint, the Other ain't regarded more than dead_

 _They bid farewell, and none can quell the grudge held in their stead_

 **End of Part 2: The Discovery**


	8. The Beacons, part 3

[Proof]

 **Chapter 19: Funeral for a Friend**

There was much work to be done after the battle at Zion. Phineas, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford, Irving, and Django all needed training. Then there was the city to rebuild, a monstrous task even without coupling it with the other objectives. Finally, a new army had to be developed, since the Dragon had eliminated the greater portion of the existing one.

Yet events the next morning began to a much different tone.

The seven Beacons in Zion were eating breakfast together when Mr. Crook walked in, followed closely by a newcomer.

"This is Alice," Mr. Crook introduced. "She was the head of the search party I sent out looking for you."

Alice nodded. "I'm glad you all found your own ways here."

Django was smart, and his question direct. "What is she here for?" he asked Mr. Crook. "You're not the type to bring someone in for no reason at all."

It was Alice who answered. "We found the crash site," she said. "There's something I think you all need to see."

The body was destroyed beyond recognizability when they walked in. But everyone knew the outfit. The trademark purple overalls, the cream-colored undershirt... there was only one person it could be.

"Ferb," Phineas murmured. His eyes suddenly became a well of tears, flowing freely down his cheek and onto the floor. He had feared this already, of course, but it still hurt to receive confirmation.

[End proof]

During this part of the story, you would have read about Ferb's funeral. There really wouldn't have been much special about it; it was just meant to be touching. But there was this song:

[Proof]

 _You were the calming presence by my side_

 _Who never asked and never cried:_

 _The man in whom I could confide_

 _Right up until the day you died_

 _And though you're not here I know where you are_

 _You're in heaven looking from afar_

 _While we're down here gazing at the stars_

 _Singing these few hallowed bars_

[End proof]

Then, shortly after the funeral, there would have been this brief conversation:

[Proof]

"It doesn't make any sense," said Ray. "If Ferb's dead, who's the seventh Beacon?"

"Why not you?" Irving asked.

"I believe my name is in the last line of the prophecy: ...the Seven's assistance, an eighth, a guide."

"Mr. Crook could be that man," Irving offered.

"But then it doesn't explain the second line, either," Ray countered, quoting, "Then seven Beacons, at once, shall rise. We didn't all rise at once. I came here two years before you."

Irving mulled over this for a second. Then, quite profoundly, he realized, "Maybe we haven't risen yet."

[End proof]

 **Chapters 20-22: Discord (20), Separate Powers (21), Anything But A Team (22)**

After this all happened, training began for Phineas, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford, Irving, and Django. But as training starts, people begin to fall apart. The team suffers tremendously. Isabella and Phineas have a conversation about Isabella's lifelong crush on him, and Phineas, ever indecisive, unintentionally shuts Isabella down completely, prompting a character change in the girl. Believing that Phineas doesn't love her (though in reality Phineas doesn't know that he does), Isabella closes herself off from the rest of the world, and her dedication to her training becomes the only thing which keeps her going. People try to be friendly to her, but she refuses any and all such gestures. She is cold, hardened, calculating, and inaccessible, entirely adverse to even the concept of a team, as she feels she cannot trust anyone.

[Proof]

 **Isabella** :

 _One time I had a dream_

 _I thought I fell in love_

 _But I was wrong, it would seem_

 _He woke me with a violent shove_

 _I wanted to love him, I thought I was strong_

 _I hoped he would be mine, I never let go_

 _But now I know better, I know I was wrong_

 _You can't fully trust those who you follow_

 _My dreams were fantasy_

 _Romantic might-have-beens_

 _Now that I clearly see_

 _I'll never love again_

 _My only oath to him was love_

 _Now that it's gone, I'll rise above_

 _He opened my eyes, now it's clear_

 _There's no romance in this frontier_

 _I thought I was destined, I thought I knew fate_

 _But misinformation was my big mistake_

 _My vision was clouded, but now I see straight_

 _It's best to forgo love, cause all of it's fake_

 **Phineas** :

 _Superhero's not the right word_

 _Nor is alien or freak_

 _I'm no frog, and I am no bird_

 _For I'm singing, and I speak_

 _I may be super-powered_

 _But up until just last week_

 _I've always been a coward_

 _So the word I think you seek..._

 _Is one who lights the way_

 _During the dark hours of night_

 _Is often off, but today_

 _Is turned on and shining bright_

 _You are looking for a man_

 _Who never gives up on a fight_

 _Well, there are so few who can_

 _Be a Beacon of the Light_

[End proof]

Baljeet, meanwhile, begins to understand his own powers. He is 'Born of Ghost' and has powers which deal predominantly in the supernatural. He can freeze time in an instant, analyze a problem from all possible angles. He can also walk through walls (though not electric currents). This leads to a problem when Buford, who is 'Born of Man', challenges Baljeet to walk through him. Baljeet tries this, but once he enters Buford's body, he finds himself unable to exit. He unintentionally discovered his power to possess other people. This quickly gets sorted out, and Baljeet and Buford soon have complete control over their own bodies again, but there are lasting scars. Baljeet knows all of Buford's secrets, and Buford no longer trusts Baljeet. The two grow apart.

[Proof]

 **Baljeet** :

 _I never thought that I would be_

 _Forgetting my identity_

 _I'm undergoing something strange_

 _I wasn't ready for this change_

 _I've tried and I've tried but I'm not coming nearer_

 _To figuring out what I see in the mirror_

 _I'm not who I was, though I've still kept the name_

 _I don't know who I am, just that I'm not the same_

 _O to the ominous wind, will you please show me the way_

 _O to the dark and the light, can you convince me to stay_

 _O to the flesh and the blood, I need to know it's okay_

 _O to the good and the bad... just give me one more day_

 **Buford** :

 _I was fifteen years old_

 _And I set all my goals_

 _And I found all my roles_

 _Or so I thought_

 _Though I seemed nonchalant, it's_

 _My spirit undaunted_

 _Which chased what I wanted_

 _The life I sought_

 _I thought that I would be peacefully rising to the top_

 _But that came to an abrupt stop_

 _When I met this new guy_

 _And in the blink of an eye_

 _My whole world turned upside down_

 _...and my smiles all turned to frowns_

 _The life that I once knew_

 _Suddenly just blew_

 _Away_

 _Now I cannot see_

 _Any way I'll be_

 _Okay_

[End proof]

Isabella is 'Born of Nature'. She can manipulate all non-living, naturally occurring renewable resources. For the most part, this means water, dirt, and air, as heavy metals are quite difficult to control. However, as per her character changes, she uses these powers mostly to keep everyone else out. Also, as the person whose sole purpose is to train, she quickly becomes the most powerful of the lot (excluding Ray).

[Final—unpublished]

 _They say I'm found, but on this ground I've lost my sense of me_

 _They help me train, but I remain a clouded mystery_

 _It's time to learn, but now I yearn to find identity_

 _I wish I knew exactly who I would turn out to be_

[End final—unpublished]

After his conversation with Isabella, Phineas is left confused and shattered. He feels like everything is spiraling out of control, which in truth, it kind of is. However, he seems to understand better than most what a Beacon is, and what he is called to do. He is 'Born of Space' and his powers chiefly involve defying science. Among other things, he can run at light speed (except not through solid objects) and change the rules of gravity. Despite being dazed, confused, and lost, Phineas still retains his sense of identity, at the heart of which is his optimism. Although his efforts to keep the team a team fall on deaf ears, he still believes that things will get better.

Irving is the person who does the best job at keeping to Ray's plan. He is 'Born of Mind', and has the power to know. Before long, he is able to control the anti-Irving which came out in Exodus, though not before discovering an even darker aspect of it: telekinesis... sort of. Although Irving can't physically move objects solely with the power of his mind, he can manipulate and control airwaves. Among other things, Irving can make people hear voices inside their heads by using this power. Like Phineas, Irving understands the duty of being a Beacon, and his new role in a new society. However, what Irving understands better than Phineas is the enormity of the challenge presented to him. While Phineas looks at the situation with optimism and belief, Irving cracks under the pressure, and begins to lose faith. He agrees that they are the only ones who can stop the Dragon, but he feels that everyone else is vastly underestimating just how powerful the Dragon is.

[Final—unpublished]

 _Forget the past: it never lasts, and focus on today_

 _You can defeat entire fleets, shoot armies down like clay_

 _You've reached great lengths and found a strength to save us from the fray_

 _With peace of mind, you shall define a generation's way_

[End final—unpublished]

Included in Irving's training is a lesson on the history of Eden. As one to whom knowledge is literally power, this is important. In this class, Irving learns, among other things, that the prophecy dates back to two prominent figures in history: Isaac and Ishmael, the two sons of Abraham, and the first prophets. Together, they chanted the ten lines which now many believe are being fulfilled.

In addition, two new ideas are presented in these chapters, and not only to Irving. The first idea is the Wisdom Passages, five historical texts which never made it from Eden to Earth. In order, they are known as the Dawn Wisdom, the Sage Wisdom, the Dark Wisdom, the Omen Wisdom, and the Lost Wisdom, or simply Dawn, Sage, Dark, Omen, and Lost. Excerpts of these passages are included.

[Proof]

 **From Dawn:**

The past is every event which has culminated in the present, and the present is a chance to create the future.

Evil by its very presence necessitates the creation of a good to destroy it.

The only path forward leads through the unknown.

 **From Sage:**

Do not wait for a savior; he is already here. Everyone has the power to save, so long as they have the courage to do what is right.

No person should let his strides outgrow his steps.

 **From Dark:**

People have grown so accustomed to darkness they often forget to turn on the light.

Every night brings about the next day, and every day, the next night. Darkness will fall, but let it be nothing more than a reminder that sooner or later, the sun will rise.

 **From Omen:**

Everyone dies, and death cares not when. So do good now, if only to be prepared when death finally knocks.

Perhaps those who cannot see have never tried looking.

 **From Lost:**

Do not expect a lost thing to return. Instead, go forth and search it out, for those who look will find far more than they seek.

There is always something to be afraid of, which means there is always something to stand against. Those who cannot find fear will never know courage.

[End proof]

The second idea is that of Old Language. According to Eden history, there is a language which predates all known languages on Earth, and that has come to be known as Old Language. Old Language is a hybrid of character writing systems and alphabetic writing systems, because it is the predecessor of both. Each word is represented by a pictograph. For example, day ( _deia_ in Old Language) is a pictograph of the sun rising over the horizon. However, each character is comprised of parts which reveal its pronunciation. So within the character _deia_ , there are three symbols. One represents the DE sound, one the I, and one the A.

There are other things covered in this class (like why people migrated from Eden to Earth), but I left them out of this summary because, although revealing, they are basically irrelevant to the story, and I hadn't yet ironed out every detail.

Which leaves Django. People have trouble with Django, because although multiple tests show that he is a Beacon, no test can reveal what he is 'Born of'. Like many others, he grows isolated, this time due to a lack of power. He feels like just a normal kid, and grows jealous of all the others and their powers. He starts to feel that he is a completely different person from everyone else, because he is nothing special, and indeed has never been, nor ever will be, anyone worth mentioning.

[Proof]

 **Irving:**

 _The dark moves in with a sense of foreboding_

 _The light moves out, as the prophecy told me_

 _And in the blackness of the night_

 _In the absence of the light_

 _We are lost, wandering blind_

 _Without a hand to guide_

 _And in the darkness we can only see:_

 _The Beacons_

 _(ooh, ooh-hoo)_

 _The Beacons_

 _Django:_

 _They said that there'd be seven_

 _For the prophecy foretold_

 _That we'd be sent from heaven_

 _A fable eons old_

 _They came to us and they implored_

 _They begged for our help in the war_

 _We said that we would help them more_

 _But there's one thing that they ignored..._

 _If we're the stuff of legend_

 _Then why have I been nulled?_

 _The others found their power_

 _They know what they can do_

 _They've blossomed like a flower_

 _They're feeling good as new_

 _Their happiness gets on my nerves_

 _'Cause though it's just what they deserve_

 _I'm not expressing equal verve_

 _For my talents are not unearth'd..._

 _I think I've missed my hour_

 _I'm feeling rather blue_

[End proof]

Disunity is already running rampant through the seven (six), and if that wasn't enough to make life difficult, seven more characters show up without warning one day in Zion: Candace, Stacey, Vanessa, Jenny, Jeremy, Coltrane, and Albert. They claim that they are the real seven Beacons who will defeat the Dragon, and more, they have the skills to support it.

Side note: One thing I love to include in my stories are plot twists. The Beacons is no exception. While there are many plot twists in the story itself, there are nine in particular which I want highlight as the nine major twists. The sudden arrival of seven other characters in Eden would be the third of these. The first is the BLADE getting blown out of the sky, and the second is the revelation of the Dragon as Ray's brother.

* * *

 **Chapter 23: The Other Seven**

All of a sudden, there are new heroes in Zion. These people are a team of trained, skilled people who know and accept the challenge ahead, and it appeals to the people far more than the previous bunch of uncooperative, young, comparatively weak, and naïve children. Maybe—just maybe—they had picked up the wrong Beacons. In fact, the more time that passes, the more this looks to be the case. Four lines make this apparent.

[Proof]

 _They asked our aid in their crusade, but nothing's been fulfilled_

 _We tried to train, but discord reigns and too much blood is spilled_

 _Though once the ones, our time is done, for others are more skilled_

 _We weren't prepared; the finders erred when choosing who they willed_

[End proof]

Before long, the new seven have done so much to usurp the old seven that nobody can decide who the prophecy is talking about. A decision has to be made, and quickly, so the new seven come up with an idea. They challenge the old seven (six plus Ray) to a fit in the Zion arena. They fight until one side is disabled, and the winners are the true seven.

But there are warning signs. The dramatic entrance and inexplicable knowledge of, well, everything should have put many people on high alert. The new seven twenty-year-olds certainly feel way out of character, and though seemingly friendly and helpful, have a hidden sinister aura beneath it all. Yet it isn't until Candace learns of Ferb's death that anyone truly grows suspicious of the supposed saviors. When Candace learns of this tragedy, it takes her a few moments to realize that she's supposed to feel sad. She dismisses this as shock, but Phineas, having known her all his life, is the only one who suspects the truth. Even Irving hardly notices anything, because he is in an incredibly analytical phase of his training, and still woefully lacking in his ability to understand emotions.

Phineas quietly confides in the others about this, but they dismiss him as crazy. So Phineas decides to confront Candace personally. The night before the arena showdown, he does so. Candace cracks, and attacks Phineas. Phineas, so far unable to run at light speed, struggles to escape her, but manages by accidentally going back across the Gate to the real world. Clearly, something is wrong with Candace.

* * *

 **Chapter 24: Showtime**

Back on Earth, Phineas decides to take a trip to Candace's house. There he finds Candace asleep, but alive. It boggles his mind how she can be here, yet simultaneously in Eden. On a separate note, any worries he might have had about his parents are quelled, as they didn't even seem to notice he had been away for any amount of time, even though time had indeed passed between when he left and now. He didn't understand it, but it clearly was the case.

Meanwhile, in Eden, the day of the fight had arrived, and Phineas was not there to help. Yet it wasn't until everyone was in the arena that anyone noticed Phineas was missing, so bad was the disunity among everyone. People try stalling the fight, but Phineas doesn't show up. The fight begins without him, six against seven.

As expected, things don't go well for the six. The other group are actually acting as a team to win, while the teen's feeble attempts at resistance more often than not interfere with each other. At one critical moment, Baljeet attempts to possess Coltrane, but strangely, finds himself unable to. He determines that this is because somebody else already is possessing Coltrane, yet he cannot determine who.

* * *

 **Chapter 25-26: Nightmares (25), Hostile Infiltration (26)**

Then on earth, Phineas wakes Candace up. At the same time, the Candace on Eden flickers, before turning into somebody different—a Shadow. Suddenly, Irving realizes. None of the new seven are actually people. They are Shadow-Beacons (Beacons who the Dragon turned into Shadows), all disguised as the seven twenty-year-olds. The fight takes a sinister turn. Spectators are shut out, and all of a sudden everything is to the death. However, Irving cautions, harming the images of Stacey, Vanessa, Jenny, Jeremy, Coltrane, and Albert before them could actually harm them in the real world as well.

Luckily, Phineas is in the real world. He goes around, waking all the others who were put to sleep and used as a disguise. In the arena, their images flicker and disappear, leaving only the Shadow-Beacons. Having a common enemy, the remaining six recover much of their old faith in each other, and begin to function as a team. Ultimately, they emerge victorious, and Phineas returns to Eden to reunite with them. Finally, unity is being promoted.

This attack alerts the SCAR to what Irving had long suspected: the Dragon is much more powerful than he let on. A council meeting determines that a frontal assault on his base (whose location was discovered by way of Baljeet and Django) must be carried out as quickly as possible, before the Dragon can grow any stronger than he already is. One way or another, they decide, the war will end soon. In twenty-four hours, they will launch.

* * *

 **Chapter 27: For Old Times' Sake**

This gives Phineas, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford, Irving, Django, and Ray one last day. Mr. Crook shows that he is somewhat generous, and, given that it could be their last day alive, allows them to spend it doing what they want, instead of forcing them to train.

Isabella, still cold and distant, decides to train, but Phineas asks everyone else if they want to spend the day building, like the good old days. The others agree, and spend arguably the last day of their lives having arguably the most fun of them. Spirits (except for Isabella's) were never higher. The continuing song gets another verse.

[Final—unpublished]

 _Let us now make, for old times' sake a sculpture like before_

 _Let us now play, on our last day, and build with our grandeur_

 _As darkness falls, ignore its call; don't think about the war_

 _Enjoy the hour, don't make it dour, cause that's what we fight for_

[End final—unpublished]

* * *

 **Chapter 28: Authentic Earthen Food**

Come late afternoon, Phineas interrupts Isabella's training. He has sorted his feelings out, and wants to apologize. So he asks Isabella out to dinner. He explains his feelings, what happened back then, and how now he knows, if nothing else, his own emotions. Isabella and Phineas go to dinner at _Chez Platypus Deux_ —Authentic Earthen Food, and end up having an intense moment together. After dinner, the scene goes something like this.

[Proof]

"So?" Phineas asked. "How was dinner?"

Isabella chose her answer carefully. "Filling."

"I didn't mean the food," Phineas explained.

"Oh." Isabella didn't care. "Well, I did."

When Isabella did not continue, Phineas repeated himself. "So, how was dinner?"

Again, Isabella thought carefully about her answer. Finally, she said, "You talk too much."

"I have too much to say," argued Phineas.

"Then you think too much."

Phineas played the romance card. "Only about you."

" _Especially_ about me," Isabella retorted quickly. "You really shouldn't."

Phineas sighed. "You know, it used to be you thinking too much about me."

"I was naïve," defended Isabella. "I didn't know any better."

"And now you do?" Phineas inquired.

"Now I am better," Isabella stated forcefully.

"Are you sure?"

Isabella whirled around, and with a single punch snapped a signpost behind her in half, sending the sign flying. She then willed the wind to catch the sign, and bring it back to her. Finally, Isabella commanded the earth to rise up at and the sign back in place.

"Is that not better than two weeks ago?" she demanded.

"I never said it wasn't," Phineas replied. "But consider the cost. You've changed, Isabella. Nobody recognizes you anymore. You don't smile, you don't wave hello, you don't say, 'Whatcha doin'... you don't even wake up early to put a rose by a friend's bed. You're lost, Isabella."

" _A person is never truly lost until he can no longer name another who loves him_ ," Isabella quoted. Phineas knew the line well. It was one of the most famous verses from the Lost Wisdom.

"You love me," Isabella continued. "You said it yourself. Therefore I can't be lost."

"I don't love you," Phineas admitted. "Not the version you've become."

The final nail driven in the coffin, Phineas turned and walked away.

He was halfway down the street when he heard the voice. "Phineas, wait!"

The redhead turned around, and there was Isabella again.

"Maybe—" the girl struggled for words. "Maybe I haven't been a great friend lately."

Phineas chuckled. "You can say that again."

"It's just... you turned me down and... and I thought that maybe friendship wasn't all that important."

Phineas looked at her, his eyes full of sympathy. "Isabella, friendship is all we have! The last thing I wanted was to lose someone like the old you, and then I went ahead and did just that. You became someone else, someone I had never met and honestly, didn't much like. I lost you, and it wasn't until then that I realized... you had always been more than a friend to me."

For a fleeting moment, Phineas saw a spark in Isabella's eyes. A spark he hadn't seen since the Dragon attacked Zion. Suddenly, he knew that the old Isabella—the one he had loved—was still in there somewhere, waiting to be set free.

However, there was still a protective outer shell to break through. "Don't distract me," Isabella said. "We have a war to finish tomorrow, and I'd rather spend my final moments prolonging my life than thinking about yours."

"And what will you do when it's over?" Phineas asked. "If you keep this up, you'll have nobody to go back to."

"Hopefully, I'll live," said Isabella simply.

Unable to break through, Phineas once again switched gears. "Look," he began, "I know I let you down last week. Badly. But you can't go on using that as an excuse to freeze everyone out of your life."

"I'm not freezing anyone out," argued Isabella. "This is war. We're mutual allies. The best kind."

"I don't need an ally," Phineas complained, his voice choking so much that the next lines were barely a whisper.

"I need a girlfriend."

Isabella remained silent. There was no adequate response to those words. A long, tense moment followed. Then Phineas took a step towards Isabella, leaned in, and pressed his lips to her cheek. The girl did not protest, and wordlessly, Phineas walked away into the night.

Isabella felt her subconscious tug at the sky, and the rain started pouring down.

[End proof]

* * *

 **Chapter 29: We Are Enough**

Of course, the next morning is the raid. By now, the six newcomers, though by no means masters, have still gotten pretty good at fighting. Besides, their ability to cooperate has never been better.

While on board the BLADE, en route to the Dragon's lair, Ray gives a speech.

[Proof]

"Allies, friends, brothers, this is it. One way or another, the war ends today. It has to be this way; we made it so. And I know it sounds crazy, pitting all of us against all of them, and fighting on their turf. But I'll tell you why we went forward with this. We did this because I know that we are enough. They may have greater numbers, plenty of traps, and the home field, but we are enough. Every one of us fights for a reason, and that reason is that together, we are enough. Yes, this is the end, and I know many of you think that it's hopeless. I've heard whispers that can't win. But hear this instead: we are enough. It doesn't matter how many Shadows are in there, waiting for us. It doesn't matter how much stronger they are, how much more prepared they are. It doesn't matter, because they aren't better than us. We are better, because we have to be. There is no other way. Evil by its very presence necessitates the creation of a good to destroy it. If the Dragon is that evil, then we are its good counterpart, and that is enough. We are enough. We have the skills, the motivation, the desire, and the drive to beat them, and that is enough. We are enough. When they strike down one of our kin, we shall strike down five of theirs, because that is enough. We are enough. Don't even think about losing. Fight for the victory, and that is enough. We are enough. There is enough strength within us, within each and every one, to make ourselves legendary. I know it's there; I have seen it. All we have to do is summon that strength. I know we can do it, because we are enough. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

[End proof]

And so, the battle begins. However, this also signifies an end. Part three of nine—The City—ends here.


	9. The Beacons, part 4

**Chapter 30: Siege**

The raiders crash through the wall, and enter a great hall, where Shadows (and the occasional Shadow-Beacon) are waiting to meet them. Behind the swaths of enemies are large double doors, through which the Dragon is undoubtedly waiting. This is where the Beacons must go. So the fight begins.

At first, things go swimmingly. As numerous as the Shadows are, they seem dreadfully underprepared to handle the training and technology of the Zionists. However, the fight is by no means easy. At one point, Buford is taken by surprise, and knocked onto the ground by the Shadows. Django, seeing this, rushes to Buford's aid, despite still not knowing what he can do. However, upon contact with Buford, a turning point is reached.

* * *

 **Chapter 31: The Throne Room**

In an instant, Django has learned all of Buford's training and abilities. He has absorbed Buford's essence completely, making it a part of him. Also, Buford did not lose any of his powers or training in the transfer. Django gained, and that was it. He discovered that he was 'Born of Friendship' and could borrow anyone else's powers to use it himself. There are, as always, limits. Django cannot use more than one person's powers at a time, so all the advantages and disadvantages of being anybody are unavoidable.

The Beacons get through the doors with relative ease, and there meet the Dragon.

[Proof]

"Scott!" Ray cried.

The Dragon whirled around. "Ah, my friends," he answered. "I'm so glad you made it! Well, I say friends."

"The feeling's mutual, brother," Ray retorted.

The Dragon's face instantly twisted into a scowl. "Your brother is dead," he snarled. "I destroyed him."

Ray shook his head. "I don't believe that for a moment."

"Then experience it," the Dragon challenged. "Watch as I destroy you."

Phineas stepped up to defend Ray. "I don't think so," he said. "If you want to destroy him, you'll have to destroy all of us, and we're too powerful for you to do that."

"Too powerful," the Dragon laughed. "It would take a GOD to challenge me!"

"God one was who build a world in seven," Phineas explained. "We are seven who can do that in one."

[End proof]

* * *

 **Chapter 32: Labyrinth**

The Dragon breaks the floor beneath everyone, and before they know it, the seven Beacons are trapped in a labyrinth, separated from each other. The floor reseals itself above them. Clearly, he is smart enough not to take them all on at once.

Weaving through the labyrinth, Phineas encountered a Shadow-Beacon. Not fully aware of what he is up against, and isolated from all his friends, he finds himself fighting a losing battle.

Buford, meanwhile, takes a few turns and finds himself back in the throne room, only to find nobody standing there. Cautiously, he wanders into the middle of the room, and is ambushed by the Dragon. One quick blow, and he is defeated.

* * *

 **Chapter 33: Descending Darkness**

Baljeet hears the cry of Buford as he falls to the Dragon, and rushes after the noise. He arrives at the throne room before the Dragon has time to hide, but he is still on his own, and the Dragon overpowers him as well.

However, just as the Dragon is about to defeat Baljeet, Irving walks in and joins the fight. In the two against one, the Dragon still has the advantage, but at the very least, Irving and Baljeet are surviving.

Meanwhile, Django is engaged in a battle with another Shadow-Beacon. He absorbs its powers, and starts fighting it. However, unused to such abilities, the Shadow-Beacon is slightly stronger, and forces Django into retreat.

Django starts running from the Shadow-Beacon, and ends up in the throne room, where Baljeet and Irving are struggling against the Dragon. Three against two now, and sadly, Irving, Baljeet, and Django end up in a pile next to Buford. However, one notable moment of the fight is when Django attempts to absorb the Dragon's powers and use them against him. As a result, he turns into a turtle, which confuses everyone. Unfortunately, a byproduct of absorbing so much evil is that it begins to corrupt Django. Django realizes this, and manages to successfully dispose of his powers in time.

* * *

 **Chapter 34: A Glimmer Of Hope**

Back in the labyrinth, the Shadow-Beacon is about to defeat Phineas, when Ray stumbles across the scene. A blast of energy from his sword, and Phineas is safe. Together, the two wander through the maze, looking for the throne room.

In the main hall, the fight is going just as badly as the fight in the throne room. The raid was a trap. The Dragon let the seven Beacons get to him, and the moment the doors closed behind them, Shadows came out of the walls, doubling, even tripling in number. In a matter of seconds, the raid turns from an apparent success to an imminent failure. In fact, Mr. Crook himself is about to be destroyed by a Shadow. Then the strangest thing happens. The Shadow bursts into flames, and disappears. Mr. Crook spins around, and sees a new person. His face is caked with dirt, his hair is a messy mop, his clothes are tattered and torn, but he is wading through the Shadows effortlessly, defeating them with what seems to be a single touch. Silently, the figure makes his way towards the throne room.

However, Isabella is next to find the throne room. She sees Baljeet, Buford, Irving, and Django lying defeated on the ground, but no enemy in sight. Immediately, she expects a trap, but it is already too late. The Dragon is behind her. An ear-piercing scream, and she, too, is out cold.

* * *

 **Chapter 35: Last Man Standing**

Phineas and Ray hear Isabella's scream, and rush towards its source. They find the throne room, and in it the Dragon, standing over the defeated bodies of the heroes' compatriots. Beside the Dragon are two Shadow-Beacons as well—the one who chased Django, and the Dragon's assistant, Reginald. The odds are stacked completely against Phineas and Ray.

Through some impressive teamwork, Phineas and Ray manage to take out the Shadow-Beacons. Only the Dragon remains, strong as ever. After a long fight, the result becomes evident: Phineas and Ray cannot defeat the Dragon. And so, the seven are defeated; all is lost.

* * *

 **Chapter 36: Alive Again**

Then the doors to the throne room smash open. The person with the dirt-caked face, messed mop of hair, and tattered clothes jumps in, taking the Dragon completely by surprise. The Dragon only has enough time to shoot a quick burst of fire at the intruder, which is completely useless. Shocked and stunned, the Dragon ends up pinned to the ground, defeated in an instant by the least likely of all people: Ferb.

Yes, Ferb. He is not dead. This was first hinted at in the very beginning of chapter 9 (The Exodus Enigma), which went:

[Quote]

 **As recorded in stone wall on this, the first day of entombment:**

 _My eyes flutter open, but I see only darkness._

 _My ears perk up, but I hear only water trickling._

 _My mouth takes in the air, but I am not refreshed._

 _My nose hunts for aromas, but I smell only dampness._

 _My hands feel for warmth, but I find only cold stone._

 _My mind searches for memories, but I recall only one._

 _A tune:_

 _Alone and blind, I now must find the answers to my past_

 _If I had some, my friends are done; I've no supporting cast_

 _Even my name I can't retain; my end is coming fast_

 _I'm trapped in here, and bound by fear - this moment is my last_

[End quote]

This excerpt is Ferb narrating. There would have been two or three others like it, but only one more was ever written out. Simply put, he survived the fall from the BLADE, and ended up trapped in a cavern somewhere (actually more like a ravine). There he had no recollection of almost anything, and spent his days eating the fish from the stream conveniently located in the cavern, and drinking the same water. He also discovered that he could do some unusual stuff, and spent his free time—and there was a lot of that—honing such skills. He was, he discovered, a master of manipulation. Anything he could wrap his hand around, he could change into something else. He could even use the invisible elements floating in the air to alter the essential nature of that which was in his hand. As time passed, he began to recall who he was, but still couldn't escape. Then one day, one wall to the cavern crashed open without warning, as Shadows were sent flying through it. Upon seeing the Shadows, Ferb remembered, walked through the hole, and joined the fight.

Remember how I mentioned the nine major twists? Ferb being not dead is the fourth.

Well, the Dragon is defeated, everyone is reunited, and everything seems to be tending toward a happy ending. What better thing to do than celebrate?

* * *

 **Chapter 37: Let The Good Times Roll**

[Final—unpublished]

 _I remember dancing through the night_

 _I remember living in the light_

 _I remember the time before the war_

 _And those good ol' days_

 _Have come again_

 _For more..._

 _..._

 _Finally I can live life to the end_

 _Finally I can laugh aloud_

 _No longer does the world need me and all my friends_

 _We're back on solid ground..._

 _..._

 _And I say: Whoa-oh-oh!_

 _And you say: Here we go!_

 _And then it's: Whoa-oh-oh!_

 _Let the good times roll_

 _We made it_

 _Whoa-oh-oh! Whoa-oh!_

 _Whoa-oh-oh! Whoa-oh!_

 _Whoa-oh-oh! Whoa-_

 _Let the good times roll_

 _We made it_

 _..._

 _We thought that our lives would be perfect_

 _But then that all went wrong... So we_

 _Took the bad things, made them correct_

 _And now we've come through strong... And it's_

 _Time to have some fun again, we_

 _Made it through the war... We'll_

 _Party through the night, and when it's_

 _Day we'll laugh some more... We'll_

 _Sing with all our problems gone, we'll_

 _Sing through the night, 'till the dawn, we_

 _Saved the world as a whole, it's_

 _Time to let the good times roll_

 _..._

 _And I say: Whoa-oh-oh!_

 _And you say: Here we go!_

 _And then it's: Whoa-oh-oh!_

 _Let the good times roll_

 _We made it_

 _Whoa-oh-oh! Whoa-oh!_

 _Whoa-oh-oh! Whoa-oh!_

 _Whoa-oh-oh! Whoa-_

 _Let the good times roll_

 _We made it_

 _..._

 _Finally I can live life to the end_

 _Finally I can laugh aloud_

 _No longer does the world need me and all my friends_

 _We're back on solid ground..._

 _..._

 _And I say: Whoa-oh-oh!_

 _And you say: Here we go!_

 _And then it's: Whoa-oh-oh!_

 _Let the good times roll_

 _We made it_

 _Whoa-oh-oh! Whoa-oh!_

 _Whoa-oh-oh! Whoa-oh!_

 _Whoa-oh-oh! Whoa-_

 _Let the good times roll_

 _We made it_

 _..._

 _I remember building things for fun_

 _And that every day was a new one_

 _I remember the time before the war_

 _And those good ol' days_

 _Have come again_

 _For more..._

 _..._

 _The sun is risen, new day's started_

 _Our lives have just begun... We_

 _Left for Eden, now we've darted_

 _Back to have some fun... It's_

 _A brand new day, the war is over_

 _New light's shining bright... It's_

 _Time to thank your lucky clover_

 _You made it through the night... Now_

 _Have some fun and laugh aloud, and_

 _Sing a song and dance around, you_

 _Fell in, now you're out of the hole, it's_

 _Time to let the good times roll_

 _..._

 _And I say: Whoa-oh-oh!_

 _And you say: Here we go!_

 _And then it's: Whoa-oh-oh!_

 _Let the good times roll_

 _We made it_

 _Whoa-oh-oh! Whoa-oh!_

 _Whoa-oh-oh! Whoa-oh!_

 _Whoa-oh-oh! Whoa-_

 _Let the good times roll_

 _We made it_

 _Whoa-oh-oh! Whoa-oh!_

 _Whoa-oh-oh! Whoa-oh!_

 _Whoa-oh-oh! Whoa-_

 _Let the good times roll_

 _We made it_

 _..._

 _Have some fun and laugh aloud, and_

 _Sing a song and dance around, we_

 _Saved the world as a whole, it's_

 _Time to let the good times roll!_

[End final—unpublished]

The festivities take place back on Earth, and everyone is there—Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford, and Django. Okay, so Irving is missing, as is Ray (who feels more at home in Eden than on earth). Irving stayed behind in Eden, for as he was leaving the Dragon's lair he came across a strange piece of stone, which he snuck into Zion undetected. He stayed behind so he could take a look at it. I'm still not sure whether the following scene would have been in this chapter or the next one. Well, no matter that scene ended up in, the end of this chapter would mark the end of part four ( _The Dragon_ ) and also of Book One ( _Unimaginable_ ). I'm not sure whether I wanted you to think the story was over, then surprise you with another chapter, or if I'd rather you get left on a cliffhanger like the one in the next scene.

[Proof]

One man, however, was not celebrating. Instead of returning to Earth with his friends, Irving went off to his private room in Eden, where the stone was hidden. He needed to take a close look at it.

It's probably nothing, he figured. There won't be anything important, and in five minutes I'll be celebrating with the rest of them.

Irving picked up the stone, and looked at it. He saw writings, but they were illegible to most. No matter; a Beacon like him could decipher the message in a heartbeat.

That first letter—an Fh. The next one—e... t... gh... u... f... ao...

The text was written in Old Language, the native language of Eden. This text must date back to the time of Isaac and Ishmael. The first line alone was ominous: _Fhet ghufao curonit, tai ancui paitit_. In English: "But Fools, be warned, all is not as once thought."

Quickly, Irving read through the rest of it, translating as he went on.

"Oh, no," he muttered, a grim look on his face.

* * *

Another person not at the festivities on Earth was Mr. Crook. Because it probably was not in his nature to show up anyways, his presence, or lack thereof, went unnoticed by everyone.

Mr. Crook, like Irving, was in Zion, only the general was pushing a cart down a corridor towards a secret underground laboratory. On the cart, unconscious and immobilized, was the Dragon. Mr. Crook smiled with an air of authority.

He reached the end of the corridor, and a door swung open. Mr. Crook and the Dragon entered, the door closing behind them, and disappearing. To anyone else, the hallway was just a dead end.

Mr. Crook transferred the Dragon from the cart onto the operation table in the center of the room, keeping him immobilized as he did so. The moment the shackles locked the Dragon into place, he regained consciousness.

Ray's brother quickly scanned the room, frightened. He saw Mr. Crook, holding a menacing device in his hand. He saw his exposed belly, with a gaping hole in the middle. Suddenly, everything made sense. He knew what had driven him to do everything he had done. He knew. He knew. And he had to warn the others, but it was already too late.

Mr. Crook laughed with satisfaction. "Hello, Scott," he greeted, taking the needle in his hand and lowering it into the Dragon's stomach.

"I've waited a long time for this."

Scott Hawkridge had time for one last thought before he blacked out.

"What have I done?"

[End proof]

If you were an attentive reader, you may have noticed a few loose ends I failed to tie up. If Ferb's not dead, what was his body, then? What, really, was the Dragon's motivation? If legend holds that the Dragon was supposed to be as strong as ten Beacons, why is it that he was overpowered by one? These are but three of the inconsistencies in the story; I would have included many more.

* * *

 **Chapter 38-40: The Stone (38), No Time To Celebrate (39), Isaac's Prophecy (40)**

Anyways, back to the story. Irving had a revelation in reading the stone tablet. He realized that the prophecy, supposedly written by Isaac and Ishmael, was only written by one of them—most likely Ishmael, as he was older. The words in his hands were a second prophecy, this one by Isaac.

[Final—unpublished]

 _But Fools, be warned, all is not as once thought_

 _For the enemy whom you have sought_

 _In a clever snare is caught_

 _And therefore not who must be fought_

 _..._

 _The truest evil lies ahead_

 _He whose glare fills One with dread_

 _Whose touch can make the living dead_

 _Who must be fought in the Other's stead_

 _..._

 _The man who seeks a Devil's throne_

 _Who wants the world for His own_

 _This true evil remains unknown_

 _And yet he hails from close to home_

[End final—unpublished]

The prophecy?! Incomplete?! What?! This must be the fifth of the nine major twists! Immediately, Irving rushes off to warn the others. The battle is not over.

Back on Earth, the festivities continue. An entire scene (still mostly cloudy) involved the Beacons conversing with other characters (namely Candace, Stacey, Jeremy, and the Fireside Girls). As Phineas discovered earlier, those who stayed on Earth seem to have no recollection of those who went to Eden of ever being away; their brains forced them to rationalize it somehow. The Beacons debate whether or not to reveal the truth, then decide not to, despite all the wonder, on account of the many horrors involved.

Besides, today is Isabella's sixteenth birthday! Two weeks ago, they missed Phineas's! They might as well celebrate both now. Phineas and Isabella enjoy their birthday together, and now that they're back on Earth, romance is at the forefront of their minds. Late that evening, they seal the start of another year with a kiss.

Irving finds the others, still celebrating. The Beacons ask what took him so long to show up, and Irving brings out the stone, and the rest of the prophecy. He reveals his opinion on the prophecy, explains that their battle is not over. Phineas, Ferb, and all the others take this seriously, and begin discussing who the truest evil might be.

They conclude that the evil must be Ray. He is the only one strong enough to potentially be as strong as ten Beacons. Also, the lines about his glare and his touch match up eerily with his powers, and they know his home is in Kansas, which given the size of the Earth, is relatively close to Danville. Also, who's to say Scott's evil didn't influence Ray somehow, knowing that the boy used to idolize him? Irving, not as powerful on Earth, has his doubts about their decision to accuse Ray, but in all fairness, he had those doubts no matter who was accused.

Then, there is one final ominous scene before the end of these chapters. It takes place in Zion, far away from any of the current action. Some character or characters (who I would've introduced in a 20-something chapter, and was (were) a high-ranking official(s) in Zion) are met by an unnamed enigma. The Zion inhabitants recognize the enigma, though, and are extremely scared. They swear that the person who is confronting them is dead, but the confronter by his/her very presence proves otherwise. (S)he claims that (s)he is trustworthy, but (s)he cannot prove it. (S)he warns them that Zion is in grave danger, and they need to prepare their defenses. The Zion inhabitants remind the enigma that they already fended him(her) off before, and that they can do it again, but the enigma swears that what is coming is far worse than anything (s)he ever did. Silence follows, which the confronter fills with two words. Tuveri akher. The enigma then disappears without a trace.

Side note: the story is half over now! Yep, the Beacons would have been 82 chapters (81+prologue) and we're now through 41 (40+prologue).

* * *

 **Chapter 41: Mistaken**

So the seven return to Eden, to Mr. Crook's BLADE, and confide in Mr. Crook their suspicions about Ray. Mr. Crook agrees with their analysis, and calls in Ray for questioning. One Ray is secured, Mr. Crook calls back the seven to interrogate him.

Together, the seven enter the room where Ray is held for questioning. Too late, Irving realizes that it is a jail cell. Mr. Crook slams the door shut, and the seven, with Ray, are locked inside. As you probably realized a while back, the truest evil is Mr. Crook. Finally revealed for certain now, it is the sixth of the nine major twists.

The jailed eight reflect on how everything applies to Mr. Crook, who they had never even considered on account of his lack of any power except that of authority. Indeed, it had always been assumed that he only had authority because of his lack of power. Time is spent covering many of the details which alluded to the truth, and explaining them now, knowing that Mr. Crook is evil. Another verse is sung.

[Final—unpublished]

 _A change of fate: we've crossed the Gate to stop another threat_

 _We blamed a friend, but in the end we were inadequate_

 _Now in a cell, we've time to dwell, the truest evil met_

 _We fell for lies, but now we're wise; the war's not over yet_

[End Final—unpublished]

* * *

 **Chapter 42: The Escape**

Eventually, the need to break out of prison becomes apparent, and eight Beacons have little trouble accomplishing this feat. It does get tougher, however, when Mr. Crook catches them escaping, and attacks.

The attack occurs on the plains, with the eight Beacons and Mr. Crook the only men in sight. Zion is still oblivious to Mr. Crook's motive, as Mr. Crook operates predominantly from his BLADE. Eight against one, and for the first time, Mr. Crook's true powers are revealed. Even working together, the eight Beacons are slightly less powerful than Mr. Crook. Out of options, they run, splitting up into four groups of two and heading for the hills.

* * *

 **Chapter 43: Forested**

The thing is, Baljeet and Ray are the slowest pair, and thus the one Mr. Crook is able to pursue. Phineas grabbed Isabella and ran off at light speed. Buford took Irving and ran as fast as humanly possible. Ferb pulled a piece of scrap metal out of his pocket and made a teleportation machine out of it, quickly disappearing with Django. However, Baljeet and Ray had no means of escaping so speedily, and thus found Mr. Crook chasing them through the forest.

The entire chapter is this chase, Baljeet and Ray working together to avoid capture. Baljeet tries possessing Mr. Crook, but finds himself being consumed by him, and has to get out. Ray jabs his sword into the ground, creating an earthquake which Baljeet is unaffected by, but it fails to affect Mr. Crook as well. Ultimately, they find themselves unable to avoid capture. Mr. Crook creates an alternate version of himself—similar to a hologram—and Baljeet and Ray fail to realize it is merely a decoy. They run away from it, straight into the hands of the real Mr. Crook, who knocks them out.

* * *

 **Chapter 44: By The Mountains**

Phineas and Isabella decide they are most safe in the mountains. It would be easy to hide among them, and the jagged, earthy terrain makes it perfect for Isabella to fight on. Only now does it occur to Phineas or Isabella that they should have fled to Zion and warned the people of the threat. Unfortunately, Phineas is too exhausted after carrying Isabella at light speed to go anywhere, and Isabella would be too slow. Not to mention that neither are entirely sure of exactly where Zion is in Eden. Isabella decides to take watch while Phineas recuperates.

However, before Phineas can regain enough energy, Mr. Crook arrives on the mountain. Fighting alone, Isabella's only hope is to buy Phineas enough time to escape to Zion. She leads Mr. Crook away from her boyfriend, and delays him as long as possible before getting captured.

* * *

 **Chapter 45: Return To Exodus**

Irving and Buford end up at Exodus, the village Irving saved from Amadeus Pitzer way back when. Still a crippled society due to brain damage in every citizen, they offer Buford and Irving asylum. Buford visits Exodus for the first time, and is particularly struck by Landon's fear of the "dark in the day." When asked why he fears the dark in the day, Landon says it means there are robbers coming.

While resting in one of the houses, it occurs to Irving that they should have headed for Zion. However, instead of risking exposing themselves, they decide to send a third party to Zion with the crucial information. However, Irving doubts that this would outsmart Mr. Crook, and then suggests that they send two parties, two hours apart, to Zion. Mr. Crook may catch one, but hopefully not the other. Neither likes the idea of wasting a life, but there are plenty of volunteers in Exodus whose lives are so shattered already they're willing to risk the journey.

The problem is, the moment the third party is caught by Mr. Crook, the villain will know where Buford and Irving are. So Buford and Irving decide to leave Exodus at the same time as the first messenger, just in a different direction. Hopefully Mr. Crook would focus on them instead of the more important message for Zion.

Just as Buford and Irving are leaving Zion, Landon comes storming out. He's screaming that the dark in the day ruined everything. Now it's not safe to go anywhere because of the robbers and thieves and burglars. Suddenly, Irving figures it out. The dark in the day: Shadows. The robber, thief, and burglar: Mr. Crook. But it is too late, for the villain is already there. Buford and Irving fight nobly, but the battle is a short one. They never stood a chance.

* * *

 **Chapter 46: Refuge**

Finally, Ferb and Django materialize in a remote cavern, the likes of which Django has never seen before. Then he sees the engraving on stone wall. My eyes flutter open, but I see only darkness. My ears perk up, but I hear only water trickling...

It's the cave where Ferb was trapped for so long, while everyone else thought he was dead. The perfect hiding place. From here, they have plenty of time to plan their next move. They also have plenty of time to add to the song.

[Proof]

 _To not be slain, we fled the plain, and hid in this ravine_

 _On hallowed ground, there is no sound, it's quiet and serene_

 _We're out of reach, war cannot breach this solemn, peaceful scene_

 _We're hiding here, without our fear, for we will not be seen_

[End proof]

Ferb reveals the secrets of his hiding place to Django in a serene moment, but they stumble upon a few Shadows. The fight is quick, and the Shadows are destroyed, but now Django and Ferb know they need to leave the cave. The moment they do, they are caught by Mr. Crook. There is a brief moment where Django absorbs Mr. Crook's power and tries to escape, but the evil within Mr. Crook starts consuming Django, just as with the Dragon, and before long he has to let go of the villain's powers.

This marks the end of the fifth part: _The Villain._


	10. The Beacons, part 5

**Chapter 48: The Mastermind**

This is the chapter where I really reveal Mr. Crook's genius. However, if he has any flaw, it's his aggrandized ego and overconfidence, which leads to much carelessness. This is the main reason he didn't kill any of the eight Beacons—since everyone who can stop him is trapped in a cell from which they cannot escape, he feels no need to kill them. Rather, he wants to display them as a trophy for everyone to see, possibly even make them his chief lieutenants, if he can generate enough power to overcome their will (If a Beacon has even a single thing worth fighting for, no amount of darkness can make him/her a Shadow-Beacon. This is because a Beacon must consent to becoming a Shadow-Beacon. Mr. Crook plans to remove all purpose from the Beacons' lives). Note: none of this paragraph was planned to be discussed in the chapter. It is just relevant information which applies, and would most probably have been revealed elsewhere in the story, before or after.

Anyways, in the chapter, Mr. Crook visits the imprisoned Beacons, to gaze upon his collection and gloat. Once calm, reserved, and taciturn, the villain has finally shed that disguise to reveal his true nature: manipulative, clever, evil, unstoppable genius. Irving, once lacking all the information to properly deduce this, now has updated his brain with all the accurate info, and does most of the talking in this chapter, explaining to Mr. Crook everything that he did.

When Crook told Ray that Scott could not withstand the evil energy in Eden, he was lying. The truth is, Scott was the perfect subject for Mr. Crook to plant a seed in. Mr. Crook knew the prophecy well (except he had never seen the second part), and he knew that if he tried to conquer Eden, seven Beacons would rise up and stop him. So he waited, patiently, pretending to be good. Then Ray came along, and insisted that Scott—a mortal, incapable of accessing Eden and surviving—go with him. Mr. Crook pulled Scott aside, offered to try an experimental procedure which would transfer some of his power to Scott, hopefully allowing him to withstand Eden. You see, for Mr. Crook to plant the seed, he needed the soil's permission. Scott agreed, and from that day on, Mr. Crook's essence lay hidden inside of him, waiting to be released. Mr. Crook remained patient, waiting plenty of time so that any connection between him and Scott would have faded from everyone's mind. Then, a year and a half ago, he activated the seed, creating the Dragon.

The plan seemed foolproof. Either the seven Beacons would rise up and stop the Dragon, after which Mr. Crook could just waltz in behind, reclaim his rightful power, and gain complete control over Eden, and eventually Earth. Or the Dragon would win, in which case Mr. Crook could just claim his power and throne directly.

But Mr. Crook hadn't counted on the second prophecy alerting the seven. He was lucky: they suspected Ray at the time. But he still had to scramble to prepare a prison, and a weak one at that. He knew they would break out, but the prison delayed them, prevented them from focusing. By the time Mr. Crook and his henchmen constructed a permanent, more secure prison, not a single one of the Beacons had gone to Zion to warn the population. And Mr. Crook still had the army of Shadows left behind by the Dragon with which to invade the city.

Mr. Crook admits to all this, and asks rhetorically how they plan to stop it when they can't even break out of this cell? Oh, yes, he is keeping his collection, and when the time comes, he is going to show them off to the world. He closes the door and leaves. The Beacons feel hopeless.

Then, in the seventh of the nine major twists, the cell wall breaks open.

* * *

 **Chapter 49: Brothers Again**

No, it wasn't any of the Beacons who found a way to break out of the prison. Somebody on the outside found a way to break them out; something Mr. Crook had never even considered possible. The truth is, there is yet another Beacon to throw into the mix. This one is 'Born of Animal' and has the power to morph into just about any other living creature. His name is Scott.

Nobody knew Scott was a Beacon. His DNA, on account of being able to rearrange itself into the genome sequence of any living creature, bore none of the signature HNA or PNA structures which marked him as a Beacon. Thus, when Mr. Crook reclaimed his power from Scott in the lab at the end of chapter 37 (or the start of 38), he expected Scott to die, unable to withstand Eden. So the overconfident villain left Scott alone in the laboratory, only for Scott to escape undetected. Then Scott ran off in search of Ray.

He saw the scene on the mountain—Isabella versus Mr. Crook had some noticeable earth-shattering movements, and in disguise as a fly, Scott followed them back to the prison. Then he waited, and when the time was right, and Mr. Crook's back was turned, he smashed through the wall.

Now with everyone safe—for the moment, at least—Scott shares his own story. He saw what was happening to Ray, and sympathized with him. After all, he had his own secrets, too. People saw Ray burning meadows and destroying playgrounds, and so nobody noticed Scott when he grew wings, horns, or a tail. As it turns out, there were other signs of Scott being a Beacon, as well. For example, when Django fought the Dragon, and turned into a turtle, he used Scott's powers.

But there is no time to lose. Mr. Crook is attacking Zion, and although Scott was able to warn the people of Zion (he was the enigma in that ominous scene at the end of chapter 40), he doubts they will be able to hold off a full-scale invasion from Mr. Crook. Which leads to this conversation.

[Proof]

"So what do we do?" Phineas asked.

Ray looked at Scott, and for the first time in a while, flashed his brother a smile.

Scott returned the smile. "Tuveri akher," he told Phineas.

"Brighten the dark," Irving translated.

"Close," corrected Ray. "It actually means to make the right choice. It's an idiom."

"Well," Phineas summarized. "We are Beacons. It's in our nature to make things bright."

[End proof]

* * *

 **Chapter 50: Tuveri Akher**

I thought this would be a good time to point out that the closer we get to the end of the story, the shorter the chapter summaries will be. In fact, these next few chapters will be perhaps the shortest of the story. Especially because there are many fight scenes, and all I have written for those scenes is the presence of a fight, notable occurrences in the fight, and the eventual outcome of the fight.

So, the nine Beacons rush to Zion, and discover that Mr. Crook is already attacking it. The city is defending desperately, but they seem unable to mount an adequate defense. This leads the nine Beacons to charge into battle together, and their combined strength does give the people of Zion hope. However, the opposition was ultimately too strong for our heroes, and after a showdown with a team of Shadow-Beacons, it is all the nine Beacons can do to escape with their lives. They run to the forest.

* * *

 **Chapter 51: In Hiding**

In the forest, Isabella creates a hole in the ground, in which she and the eight other Beacons decide to hide. The hole quickly expands into an elaborate tunnel system connecting most of Eden from underground. Since Zion is protected by the Gate, Isabella is unable to breach the city limits without alerting Mr. Crook to their presence. However, the tunnel network proves to be extremely useful in finding other people who escaped Zion before the Shadows do. And thus, using these underground tunnels, the nine Beacons are able to rescue many escapees. This chapter is comprised of many disjointed scenes of Embers (the term for people who can access Eden, but are not Beacons) being rescued by some of the nine Beacons.

* * *

 **Chapter 52: The Phoenix**

In the underground tunnels, the nine Beacons have managed to gather enough refugees to create a small army. Deciding that they need a name, the group decides to call themselves the Phoenix, because they will rise out of the ashes of their fallen city. It follows, then, that their goal is to retake the city, and ideally, defeat Mr. Crook entirely in doing so. Thus, a strategy must be devised.

Obviously, the Shadows vastly outnumber the Phoenix, and the Shadows also have the advantage of controlling Zion. Clearly, a frontal assault will be ineffective. Therefore, the Phoenix must resort to guerrilla tactics. Somebody offers the idea of digging underground it the center of Zion, but they are quickly reminded that doing so alerts Mr. Crook that they are invading. Every moment the Gate is breached, Mr. Crook will know. So attacking and retreating continually will not work, either. Finally, a plan is devised. If everyone attacks Zion through the front gates at the same time, then maybe the nine Beacons will be able to sneak through underneath. There will be so many alerts of the Gate being breached that the important one may be overlooked. Many of the Beacons actively protest this plan, because it essentially sacrifices every Ember in the Phoenix. However, one person speaks up, noting that if not for the Beacons, he would be a Shadow already, as would everyone else. As such, he is willing to sacrifice himself for the cause, just so that the Beacons might get a chance at winning the war. Another Ember echoes his agreement, and before long, every member of the Phoenix has proven willing to sacrifice his or her life for the cause. And so regretfully, the Beacons allow them to go forth with this plan.

[Proof]

 _Don't like this life of endless strife and living in the shade_

 _We're tired of hiding, now we're riding one final parade_

 _For on this night, we show our might and start our last crusade_

 _The fight begins to see who wins and which side will soon fade_

[End proof]

* * *

 **Chapter 53: Overwhelmed**

At first, the plan seems to work surprisingly well. The nine Beacons tunnel into Zion, and when they breach the surface, it appears that their crossing over the Gate went undetected by Mr. Crook. Stealthily, they patrol the city in search of Mr. Crook. They hear sounds of the slaughter going on at the front gates, and many are tempted to help. However, they are firmly reminded that their only objective is to find and terminate Mr. Crook, and manage to stay on task.

Unfortunately, it is once again Mr. Crook who gets the better of them. He finds them first, and the Beacons barely manage to avoid capture. The much-anticipated battle ensues, but much like the last one, Mr. Crook emerges the clear victor, and pushed to the edge of the city, Irving activates the Gate, which takes them back to Earth. So ends part six of nine: The Guide.

* * *

 **Chapter 54-56: The Return Home (54), Hopeless (55), Doomsday's Eve (56)**

The nine Beacons arrive back on Earth, and reflect upon recent events. They lost. They failed to save Eden. The prophecy was never about them... none of it made sense. Mr. Crook won, and he now controls Eden entirely. So the kids try to return to their normal life. Django returns to California, Ray and Scott to rural Kansas, and Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Buford, Baljeet, and Irving to Danville. At first, they try to feign happiness, retain the same self which left for Eden all those days ago, but they soon realize that the people they were has long since left them. Worse, it slowly dawns on the failed heroes that Mr. Crook will not settle for Eden. With the entire world unaware of his existence and total power, Mr. Crook has all the time he needs to build an army large enough and skilled enough to conquer Earth, especially with the world in the state it is in. The six Beacons in Danville talk about it, and determine that Mr. Crook will attack no later than one month after the day he took Eden. Said another way, they have less than thirty days to live.

However, nobody else knows this, and the Beacons decide not to share. So life continues as normal. And for people aged fifteen and sixteen, that means high school. Irving complains that compared to what he has faced and what is to come, high school seems, well, trivial. Pointless. Everyone else, equally dejected, agrees.

But the truth is that all this hopelessness does not go unnoticed by the others in the Beacons' lives. Everyone notices, and wonders what happened to them. Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford, and Irving all agree that they cannot tell anyone, for a multitude of reasons, and continue making poor excuses and dodging questions about their well-being.

Then, with ten days left on the countdown clock, a light goes off beside Phineas's bed.

* * *

 **Chapter 57: Supernova**

The light is a signal from a contraption Phineas and Ferb built deep underground beneath their house, a few years ago. It is a neutrino detector, and it sensed, you guessed it, neutrinos. (Science note: to those who don't know, neutrinos are extraordinarily small subatomic particles. They are so small that if an atom were the size of the solar system, a neutrino would be the size of a golf ball. Shortly before a star explodes, all the neutrinos in a star are propelled from the reactor at close to light speed. Also, given their size, they are next to impossible to stop or even slow down. Scientists use neutrino detectors to predict when and where supernovas will occur, since neutrinos will usually reach Earth before the light from the actual supernova does). Phineas runs some quick calculations, and determines that the upcoming supernova will be visible from Danville, in a few hours. Acting on impulse, he runs out the door to Isabella's house, opting not to wake Ferb.

Phineas throws pebbles at Isabella's window, waking her up. It's late at night but he asks her to come down to him. Isabella obliges, and Phineas explains to her what's happening. Then he asks her to walk with him to a nearby hill, where they can watch the event together. A song ties it all up nicely.

[Final—unpublished]

 _Have you ever seen the sky?_

 _When a star decides to die?_

 _It's a brilliant, wonderful view..._

 _Have you seen a star explode?_

 _Watched its colors as they glowed?_

 _It's a moment I want to show you..._

 _Have you seen a star ablaze?_

 _Seen the beauty of its rays?_

 _If you've not then it's time that you do..._

 _Have you looked up in the night?_

 _Seen it colorful and bright?_

 _Come with me and you'll see that it's true..._

 _..._

 _Yes, it's a supernova... (supernova)_

 _That's what I want to show ya... (want to show ya)_

 _See the radiant flames dance in the night..._

 _Yes, it's a supernova... (supernova)_

 _Look up, it's right above ya... (right above ya)_

 _Leaves you staring awestruck at the sight..._

 _..._

 _Have you seen a star depart?_

 _Is it still there in your heart?_

 _Did it leave you in hypnotic trance?_

 _Have you seen a star at death?_

 _Seen its epic final breath?_

 _Watched it make the most of its last chance?_

 _Have you seen the colors fly?_

 _All across the moonlit sky?_

 _Watched them twisting and twirling in dance?_

 _Would you like to come with me?_

 _Sit beneath the cherry tree?_

 _Take the beautiful night for romance?_

 _..._

 _'Cause it's a supernova... (supernova)_

 _That's what I want to show ya... (want to show ya)_

 _You can marvel at the view so grand..._

 _Yes, it's a supernova... (supernova)_

 _Look up, it's right above ya... (right above ya)_

 _Leaves you in a heav'nly wonderland..._

 _..._

 _Oh, let's go watch the fireworks tonight_

 _And see them shining brilliantly bright_

 _For even in the darkness, there's a light_

 _And just this once, all of the wrongs are right_

 _'Cause in the silence, everything's at peace_

 _Don't need to worry; sit and rest at ease_

 _Reminisce over childhood stories_

 _Tonight's a night for dancing under trees_

 _..._

 _Ooo-ooo-ooh, ooh (ooh, ooo)_

 _Ooo-ooo-ooh, ooh (ooh, ooo)_

 _Ooo, ooo, ooh_

 _Have you looked beyond the moon?_

 _When a star sings its last tune?_

 _Did you hear the perfect melody?_

 _Have you noticed way out far?_

 _There are big exploding stars?_

 _Made for us to witness their beauty?_

 _Have you heard the ancient lore?_

 _Of which now you stand before?_

 _Of this symbol of serenity?_

 _Does it feel like time stands still?_

 _Watching from atop this hill?_

 _Come here and sit down, right next to me_

 _..._

 _Yes, it's a supernova... (supernova)_

 _That's what I want to show ya... (want to show ya)_

 _It shall make the world stand and stare..._

 _Yes, it's a supernova... (supernova)_

 _Look up, it's right above ya... (right above ya)_

 _In its presence, no one has to care..._

 _..._

 _We were forced to grow up too fast_

 _Did you really think it could last?_

 _For tonight, let's be kids again_

 _Remember then?_

 _It was way back when..._

 _Imagine that there is no war_

 _No reason to fear anymore_

 _Right now, recall when we were young_

 _And our dreams hung_

 _On the highest rung..._

 _..._

 _Ooo-ooo-ooh, ooh (ooh, ooo)_

 _Ooo-ooo-ooh, ooh (ooh, ooo)_

 _Ooo, ooo, ooh_

 _..._

 _Yes, it's a supernova... (supernova)_

 _That's what I want to show ya... (want to show ya)_

 _See the radiant flames dance in the night..._

 _Yes, it's a supernova... (supernova)_

 _Look up, it's right above ya... (right above ya)_

 _Leaves you staring awestruck at the sight..._

 _..._

 _Yes, it's a supernova..._

[End final—unpublished]

Oh, yeah. You gotta love the song. In my opinion it's my best-ever on Fanfiction.

So the rest of this chapter is basically Phineas and Isabella watching the supernova and enjoying each other's company. Pretty much the climax of that romance subplot. Nine days to doomsday.

* * *

 **Chapter 58: The Road Home**

So late at night now it's technically the next morning, Phineas and Isabella walk home from the supernova together. Then there's this scene.

[Proof]

Phineas and Isabella turned right at the corner and continued down the road. Suddenly, a muffled cry caught Phineas's attention. He quickly whirled around to face Isabella, but she was not there.

"Isabella?" Phineas called, worried.

"Isabella's a little busy right now," an unfamiliar voice replied. "She can't really talk."

But through the gag keeping her mouth shut, Isabella was making as much noise as she possibly could.

"I don't have any money," Phineas told the thugs. There were three of them, two restraining the girl and one holding the gun.

"Well, if pretty little rich boy wants his pretty little rich girl back, then he's gonna have to find some."

"I told you," Phineas repeated. "I don't have any money."

"Have you checked your wallet?"

"I don't have a wallet."

"Oh," said the thug with the gun, a sarcastic frown appearing on his face. "Well, that's too bad. I hate seeing blood taint such a beautiful body."

"You don't want to do that," Phineas warned.

"But if you can't give me any money, then I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

One of the thugs restraining Isabella revealed a knife in his free hand. They forced back the captive's head, and touched the knife to her neck.

"Let her go!" Phineas insisted.

"Only Ben Franklin and his twins can tell me that," the man replied.

By now, Phineas realized the pointlessness of telling the thugs that he had no money. They would never listen. So the boy chose to remain silent.

The leader took Phineas's silence as a command to harm his prisoner.

"How does it feel to know your boyfriend doesn't really love you?" he asked Isabella.

Isabella remained calm. Mr. Crook would destroy the world in ten days at any rate. Her own destruction, then, was only slightly ahead of schedule.

"Give her something she won't forget," the leader commanded his friend with the knife.

The blade moved from Isabella's neck to her arm, near the shoulder. Isabella braced herself for the pain.

The fight ended in a heartbeat. Fueled by that unknown instinct inside of him, that instinct which drove a man to protect those he loved with all his strength, Phineas moved. He felt a tug in his gut and a gust of wind. Then the criminals were on the ground, defeated, and Phineas's arms were wrapped tightly around Isabella, guarding her against all evils.

[End proof]

For the record, that last paragraph was the eighth of the nine major twists.

Isabella is the first to ask a question. She wants to know how Phineas did that. Only after she asks does Phineas see his surroundings. He admits he has no idea what happened, only that he wanted more than anything to keep her safe. Slowly, it dawns on the both of them: Phineas used a power that was not supposed to be usable on Earth.

* * *

 **Chapter 59: Impossible Discoveries**

After traveling at light speed once, Isabella wonders if Phineas can replicate the feat. The next morning, Phineas tries, and fails. So Isabella puts herself in harm's way again, and as she suspected, Phineas uses his powers to save her. This time, Phineas did so consciously, and afterwards is able to do so again.

Now that Phineas can use his power from Eden on Earth, it's Isabella's turn to find out if she is the same. After trying and failing, and trying and failing again... and again... Phineas suggests a new way of thinking about it. Instead of commanding the ground, as she had done in Eden, perhaps she should try becoming the ground. Instead of subjecting the earth to her will, try making the earth's will her own. Isabella tries, and gets the ground to budge slightly. Phineas spends many hours helping Isabella unlock her powers, and at the end of the day, she, too, can do the impossible.

* * *

 **Chapter 60: This Is Happening**

If the nine Beacons can all unlock their powers on Earth, then when Mr. Crook invades in eight days' time, they might stand a chance against the onslaught. So Phineas and Isabella go to Ferb, Irving, Baljeet, and Buford, showing them their powers. And although school gets in the way, the group of friends work their way around it and eventually become just as powerful. The gang now have something they have not had since before Mr. Crook's evil reign: hope.

* * *

 **Chapter 61-62: Finding Friends (61), Calling All World (62)**

Phineas goes to Django in California, and shows him that powers can be used on Earth. Django tells his parents that one of his artworks qualified him for a nationwide competition in Danville, and so he's going on a school-sponsored trip for a few days. Jenny, who is home from college for the weekend, runs into Phineas, and immediately knows that Django is lying. Phineas, judging that Jenny—having already been possessed by a Shadow-Beacon before—might be helpful to the war effort, takes her back to Danville with Django as well. There, Isabella, Ferb, Buford, Baljeet, and Irving help Django remaster his abilities, while Phineas takes one more trip to Kansas.

Ray and Scott are immediately on board with Phineas's plan to save the world. However, upon return to Danville, and after countless attempts, neither Ray or Scott unlock the same strength they possessed in Eden.

While Phineas is in California, Isabella speaks to some of her closest friends—the former Fireside Girls. Nine Beacons alone will not be enough to hold off Mr. Crook and his army of faceless Shadows; they will need support. Per Irving's tactical analysis, a base of operations is required—that is, a city that must be defended at all costs, and what better choice than Danville? Thus, a team of capable fighters, such as the former Fireside Girls, seems like a good idea. After all, multiple national governments refused to listen to these sixteen-year old whack-jobs and their cheap parlor tricks.

Luckily for Isabella, her friends believe her. So do Candace, Jeremy, Albert, Stacey, Vanessa, Coltrane, Jenny, and almost every other character from the show. Even OWCA is convinced that the threat is real, and insists that their animal agents prioritize this threat.

One day remains.

* * *

 **Chapter 63: The End Of The Tunnel**

The first part of this chapter focuses on training the non-Beacons for the upcoming war. Traps are set in place, a headquarters is set up, and a plan of action is devised. Irving calculates that in order to take over the world fastest, Mr. Crook will open the Gate in as many places as possible. Ferb, however, designs an invention that should attract all portals to it, limiting the Shadows to only one point of entry into Earth. They don't expect it to work forever, but perhaps it will buy the world enough time to mount some sort of defense.

The second part is a reflection on the seven Beacons' (not Scott or Ray) journey. Phineas does most of the talking here, especially in an address to the crowd of the thirty-odd people ready to fend off the coming invasion.

Phineas talks about his own long, arduous journey, and about how finally, he sees a light. They're approaching the end of the tunnel, as it were. One way or another, this is the end. Once it's over, it's over. I have a song describing this, though I'm not sure which chapter it would fit best into.

[Proof]

 _The odds are stacked against us_

 _But to be fair, they always are_

 _There are many who believe we're lost_

 _But we've already come this far_

 _If we give up now, what have we done?_

 _We've not even tried our best_

 _But if we stand as one, and refuse to run_

 _Maybe God will do the rest_

 _So I'll keep on fighting, though I cannot win_

 _I have to save the world from the wrath of sin_

 _And every time I fall, I know I'll rise again_

 _'Cause if I don't get up, the world will meet its end_

 _So I'll keep on fighting, cause I can't say no_

 _I have to save the world everywhere I go_

 _And if you stand by me, then maybe we'll defend_

 _But if you don't step up, the world will meet its end_

 _Oh, I can't continue, but I can't give up_

 _Guess I'll keep on, keep on fighting 'til I drop_

 _The battle never ends, and the war won't stop_

 _Guess I'll keep on, keep on fighting 'til I drop_

 _I will fight_

 _For all that I love_

 _For all I believe_

 _For all I'm made of_

 _And I can achieve_

 _I will fight_

 _For all of my friends_

 _For all of my pride_

 _For if it's the end_

 _I know that I've tried, whoa-oh!_

 _So I'll keep on fighting, though I cannot win_

 _I have to save the world from the wrath of sin_

 _And every time I fall, I know I'll rise again_

 _Cause if I don't get up, the world will meet its end_

 _So I'll keep on fighting, cause I can't say no_

 _I have to save the world everywhere I go_

 _And if you stand by me, then maybe we'll defend_

 _But if you don't step up, the world will meet its end_

 _If you'll keep on fighting, call yourself my friend_

 _We will keep on fighting all that evil sends_

 _We will keep on fighting 'til the bitter end_

 _So let's keep on fighting, cause we might defend_

 _Oh, I can't continue, but I can't give up_

 _Guess I'll keep on, keep on fighting 'til I drop_

 _The battle never ends, and the war won't stop_

 _Guess I'll keep on, keep on fighting 'til I drop_

 _Every time I fall, I know I'll rise again_

 _Cause if I don't get up, the world will meet its end_

[End proof]

The chapter ends with the soldiers waiting for war to begin. Sixty seconds left on Irving's countdown. Five... four... three... two...

This is the end of part seven— _The Brotherhood_. It is also the end of book two— _Unpredictable_.


	11. The Beacons, part 6

**Good news: this is the final installment of The Beacons, and of this story. Bad news: it's 7.5K words.**

* * *

 **Chapter 64-65: Let Us Begin (64), Branching Out (65)**

True to Irving's prediction, Shadows stream through the portal, all emerging from the one entrance Ferb hooked the Gate up to. Of course, Mr. Crook anticipated this very plan, and so only a very small number of Shadows actually stream through Ferb's portal—just enough to destroy the device. All of a sudden, portals are opening up all over the world, and Shadows are streaming through them.

A new plan is needed. The primary objective is to protect at the very least, Danville. As such, their first mission is to close all portals in and around the area. Once that objective is complete, Danville can only be invaded from the outside.

The second objective is to protect the world leaders. With Shadows only capable of attacking Danville from the outside, the non-Beacons are prepared enough and capable enough to fend off the attack themselves, freeing the Beacons to spread out and focus on the rest of the world. But the rest of the world is falling to fast—there are too many entry points and not enough Beacons. In addition, every human killed by a Shadow becomes a Shadow as well, for their soul goes to Mr. Crook. So every passing second is crucial. If it is any consolation, Ray and Scott both rediscover their powers on Earth while shutting down the portals.

Using a communication system Ferb designed with teleportation features and a nine-way radio, the Beacons spread out across the world. Scott goes to the East coast of the United States, Django to the West Coast. Irving attempts to defend the Mediterranean regions around Southern Europe—from Italy to Greece. Isabella heads to Paris, and Ray to London. Baljeet to Delhi, Ferb to Tokyo, Buford to the Middle East, and finally, Phineas to Africa.

* * *

 **Chapter 66: The Paris Conundrum**

It is in Paris, however, that the largest enemy arrives on Earth. Isabella is busy saving whoever she can when she sees Mr. Crook. Thinking that Mr. Crook is weaker, Isabella tries confronting him alone. However, she quickly realizes that this is not the case. Mr. Crook is just as powerful on Earth as he was in Eden. Phineas is the only one capable of leaving his own section of the world and his own battle to go help Isabella, but their combined efforts still leave Paris a virtual wasteland. Then Scott chimes in from Washington D.C. He suggests launching a nuclear missile which would level Paris in ten minutes' time, posing everyone a moral dilemma: destroy Paris and all its citizens immediately for a chance at ending the war, or persist and hope that perhaps some of the city's residents can be saved. After all, if the nuke destroys Mr. Crook, all the souls he consumed which turned people into Shadows will be restored, making the people actual people again.

Quickly running out of time, Phineas tells Scott to launch the missile. It is now Isabella's job to keep Mr. Crook in Paris for ten minutes while Phineas tries to evacuate as many citizens as he can. Long story short, Paris is a radioactive wasteland ten minutes later. Phineas and Isabella both make it out alive.

* * *

 **Chapter 67: A Safe Zone**

The next major battle is in Rio. Shortly after Paris, a team of Shadow-Beacons launch an attack on the Brazilian city. Phineas, Scott, Buford, and Ray all show up to defend. Ferb, Baljeet, and Django are occupied in Beijing (see next chapter), and Irving and Isabella are off fighting their own battles. After a chapter's worth of battling, the Shadow-Beacons retreat from Rio, and the city, to some small extent, is saved. A lesson is learned here: the Beacons can win this.

* * *

 **Chapter 68: The Last Crusade**

While some others are fighting in Rio, Ferb, Baljeet, and Django are in Beijing, tackling Mr. Crook himself. The villain survived Paris, and is now attacking the capital of China. The Beacons, more powerful than ever, manage to hold their own against Mr. Crook, but eventually his allies arrive. The tides turn from a potential victory to an inevitable slaughter, and the Beacons are barely able to escape with their lives. As a result of this loss, Mr. Crook is assured control of almost the entire Western Hemisphere.

* * *

 **Chapter 69: Visions**

Baljeet is at the center of this last-gasp effort to save the Western Hemisphere from Mr. Crook's wrath. He starts seeing... things. All kinds of things. Baljeet sees Sydney being overrun by Shadows, but he intrinsically knows it hasn't happened yet. He knows that a small group of Australians saw the threat arrive all over the rest of the world before it did in Australia, and as such built up a small resistance. So Baljeet gathers a group of Beacons—he, Irving, and Scott—and head for the big city Down Under.

But the three arrive in Sydney to find it already a desolate landscape. Evidence shows it was one of the first places overrun by the Shadows, and indeed almost all of Australia is a barren wasteland, void of even the Shadows. Suddenly, another vision strikes Baljeet. He sees Sydney again, but this time he gets a slightly bigger picture. It wasn't Sydney, it was a part of Las Vegas designed to look like Sydney. The three Beacons then go to Las Vegas.

Only Vegas brings the same results as Sydney: Desolation. No signs of even a single Shadow currently in the area. Baljeet, now plagued by another vision, drags Irving and Scott to Hong Kong. Then after Hong Kong is already destroyed, they go to Dubai, and find it destroyed. The visions lead Baljeet to Delhi, then Denver, then Jakarta, then Reykjavik, and at each location they find exactly what they saw at the last. Eventually, Irving and Scott go off to find a real battle, and tell Baljeet to let them know when he finds something real. Baljeet, too, is beginning to doubt his visions. But they were so vivid, so real...

Then Baljeet hears a voice—Mr. Crook's. Mr. Crook tells Baljeet how pointless resisting him is. They can't be everywhere, and his previous visits were all the places they weren't. As it turns out, Mr. Crook did something to him in Beijing which allowed the villain to put images in Baljeet's head. To enforce that, Mr. Crook gives Baljeet one more image—eight heads, and no bodies attached. The heads of Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Buford, Irving, Django, Ray, and Scott, lined up in a row, on display for all the world to see. If you want to avoid this, Mr. Crook warns, meet me in Moscow.

* * *

 **Chapter 70: Small Victories**

On the other side of the world, Buford is in his own fight in Mexico City. Nothing serious, until a few Shadow-Beacons turn up. After an intense fight, Buford manages to defeat the Shadow-Beacons.

At the same time, Ray is engaging himself in Madrid. Again, nothing particularly important to the war happens, it just raises morale. Ray saves everyone he can before leaving.

Third, Phineas chose to occupy himself in Toronto, Canada. He saves many people, and defeats a Shadow-Beacon in the process.

* * *

 **Chapter 71: The Winter Bear**

Ferb and Isabella hear from Irving and Scott about Baljeet's problems. Ferb comes up with a diagnosis, which is that Mr. Crook planted the images in Baljeet's head. So Ferb tries contacting Baljeet via the earpiece. Nothing but static. Baljeet must now be found. Ferb and Isabella track his movements to Moscow, and fall into the same trap Baljeet fell into. Mr. Crook cuts Moscow off from the rest of the world, preventing them from leaving and anyone else from arriving. Then they fight, Mr. Crook the clear favorite to win. And indeed it plays out so, the Beacons ending up soundly defeated.

* * *

 **Chapter 72: Undercover**

Django returns to his home in Los Angeles, only to find that it has fallen. Even more, Mr. Crook seems to have converted it into a base of operations for his assault on Earth. Presumably, he chose this location to hurt Django, leading the Beacons to assume that Ray and Scott's hometown in Kansas has fallen as well. Danville, however, is defending admirably.

But Los Angeles is swarming with Shadows. Django cannot even find a single person whose soul did not belong to Mr. Crook. So Django goes undercover, using a recently discovered power to disguise himself. He finds in his home a Shadow-Beacons sitting at an array of computers. On one of the computers is a 3D image of Earth, with almost all of it black except for a small part of the central United States. Django confronts this Shadow-Beacon and absorbs its powers, and discovers that this Beacon has the power to see the present. Any location, any person in the world, the Shadow-Beacon need only concentrate on to learn what is happening to that person at that exact point. Things start to get tough, but Django escapes in time, retreating to Danville.

* * *

 **Chapter 73: This Is Our Home**

As it turns out, all the Beacons have been forced back to Danville—it is the only city left untaken by Mr. Crook. Phineas, Buford, Irving, Django, Ray, and Scott, along with all the other non-Beacons, put up a desperate defense of Danville. The Shadows are relentless, but after a while, Mr. Crook decides to back off temporarily. Everyone enjoys the brief respite.

* * *

 **Chapter 74: Rescue Operation**

This is when it is truly noticed that Ferb, Baljeet, and Isabella are missing. Django, still using the powers of the Shadow-Beacon from Los Angeles, decides to search for them. He finds them in a prison deep within the African jungle. However, at that exact moment, Mr. Crook starts attacking Danville again. The Beacons cannot all be spared for the venture into Africa. So Ray goes alone. Avoiding the Shadows, and confronting only when confronted, but not finding Mr. Crook, Ray finds the prison containing Ferb, Baljeet, and Isabella. It is a remake of the one which held them in Eden, with more under construction, but unfinished.

Ray charges towards the completed prison which contains Ferb, Baljeet, and Isabella, but is attacked by Shadows before he can reach his goal. Ray defends bravely, but the Shadows are ultimately too much. In a desperate final act, Ray sends a beam of energy at the prison door.

The prison breaks open, and Ferb, Baljeet, and Isabella react immediately. They leap into battle, and save Ray from the swarm of Shadows. An epic battle ensues as the Beacons try to escape.

Then Mr. Crook enters the scene. What follows is the last of the nine major twists.

[Proof]

Ray saw him first. He was looking the other way, and Ray saw only his backside, but there was no question as to who he saw. Thinking he had the jump on the villain, who at the moment was wading his way towards Baljeet, Ferb, and Isabella, Ray leapt towards him.

He should have known Mr. Crook was better.

The universe seemed to freeze in that moment as all eyes turned towards the scene. Mr. Crook whirled around to face Ray, and saw the teenager's sword aimed at his heart. So the villain expertly twisted to the side, and Ray's arm flew harmlessly past his chest.

But the worst was yet to come. With his own leg, Mr. Crook caught Ray's leg and thrust it into the ground. At the same time, the villain grabbed Ray's forward arm in his own hand and, using his shoulder as a brace, forced the arm even further from the body. An audible pop resonated through the air as Ray's arm was dislocated, yet the relentless villain still had work to do.

Mr. Crook wrapped his spare hand around Ray's shoulder joint and squeezed. The arm came right off, and Ray's expression of hopeful victory turned to one of horror. The villain, holding Ray's sword in his hand, stepped back to admire his handiwork. Then he applied the finished touch.

Everyone saw it coming, but at the same time, everyone was too stunned to do anything about it. Mr. Crook swung his new sword at Ray, aiming for the neck.

The Beacons had time to give one final command. He looked at Ferb, Baljeet, and Isabella, his eyes wide, and said simply, "Live."

[End Proof]

* * *

 **Chapter 75: The Martyr**

Yeah, I'm sorry to say that Ray didn't make it to the end. Baljeet, Ferb, and Isabella react quickly enough to recover Ray's body and escape to the relative safety of Danville. The moment they return, the Shadows pull out of Danville. In the peace, everyone mourns Ray's death. During the grieving, Phineas softly and slowly sings a tune.

[Final—Unpublished]

 _We were the best of friends_

 _In the worst of times_

 _And as the world ends_

 _I realize_

 _That although we boast_

 _Very different pasts_

 _I owe you the most_

 _So to pay for that_

 _..._

 _I will raise you up from the blackened, burning ashes_

 _I will raise you up from the depths of fallen cities_

 _I will raise you up from the fire and mend your gashes_

 _(I will) raise you up... raise you up to me, in eternity_

[End final—unpublished]

Around this time, Mr. Crook's voice resonates throughout all of Danville, emanating from an indiscernible source. He tells everyone that they have fought valiantly, and their names will be exalted in his new world. As such, he does not wish to be forced to destroy these people. He asks the eight remaining Beacons to meet him on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that he may accept their surrender. That is all, he says... the Beacons have one hour.

[Proof]

"You can't go!" Candace cried. "It's gonna be a trap, he's going to kill you!"

The Beacons all remained silent for a long while. Then Phineas spoke for the group.

"You don't understand," he said, looking down at Ray's gravestone. "This isn't just about us anymore."

[End proof]

* * *

 **Chapter 76: I Will Raise You Up**

With that promise to raise Ray, Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford, Irving, Django, and Scott meet Mr. Crook on the aircraft carrier, more determined than ever to win the war. All ten or so of the aircraft carriers in the Pacific have been moved to this location, but the Beacons recognize which one they are to meet Mr. Crook at—it's the one where instead of a flag flying, there is Ray's head on his sword. In a fit of rage, Scott lashes out at the severed head. Then they land on the aircraft carrier, and Mr. Crook shows himself. A team of Shadow-Beacons is there to support him, but he assumes the Beacons have come to surrender.

Mr. Crook asks the Beacons if they do indeed intend to surrender. But Scott assures the villain that surrender is the last thing on their mind. According to Mr. Crook, this is a shame, because now he has to attack Danville again. A Shadow-Beacon disappears, presumably to launch said invasion. Meanwhile, the Beacons launch into one last showdown against Mr. Crook and his Shadows.

But the battle turns out to be more of a massacre. Immediately, Isabella calls on the tremendous power of the ocean and floods the aircraft carrier with water. There is so much power, in fact, that only Mr. Crook is able to stay on the carrier—all the other Shadow-Beacons are pulled into the ocean and rendered out of commission. Mr. Crook is now isolated, and vulnerable. Phineas starts the end with the same song as the previous chapter, this time louder, and with plenty of confidence.

 _I will raise you up from the blackened, burning ashes_

 _I will raise you up from the depths of fallen cities_

 _I will raise you up from the fire and mend your gashes_

 _(I will) raise you up... raise you up to me, in eternity_

Phineas strikes Mr. Crook, and is joined in by Ferb.

 _And I will raise you up from the blackened, burning ashes_

 _I will raise you up from the depths of fallen cities_

 _I will raise you up from the fire and mend your gashes_

 _(I will) raise you up... raise you up to me, in eternity_

Then Buford.

 _And I will raise you up from the blackened, burning ashes_

 _I will raise you up from the depths of fallen cities_

 _I will raise you up from the fire and mend your gashes_

 _(I will) raise you up... raise you up to me, in eternity_

Then Baljeet. And Isabella. And Irving. And Django. With each blow delivered to Mr. Crook, those four lines are sung again.

 _And I will raise you up from the blackened, burning ashes_

 _I will raise you up from the depths of fallen cities_

 _I will raise you up from the fire and mend your gashes_

 _(I will) raise you up... raise you up to me, in eternity_

Finally, Scott. Mr. Crook is on the ground, helpless and defeated, when the man who was once the Dragon approaches him. Standing over the real villain, Scott acknowledges his victory. "It's over."

And Mr. Crook is no more.

This ends part eight of nine.

* * *

 **Chapter 77-79: Victory (77), Fulfillment (78), Remembrance (79)**

These chapters are all intended to be a little on the short side. First, we experience the victory. We celebrate and revel, but winning came at great cost. The good news is, once Mr. Crook was defeated, all the souls he had taken to turn people into Shadows return to their bodies. People regain consciousness in strange places, but at least basically nobody died. With their special powers, Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford, Irving, Django, and Scott spearhead the rebuilding effort. One team—Phineas, Irving, Django, and Scott—focus on returning the displaced people to their homes, and another team—Ferb, Isabella, Baljeet, and Buford—starts rebuilding the world. All this and more they do anonymously, not wanting to be known. However, the media does catch glimpses of the Beacons, and ends up giving them all a name: the Saviors. "We may never really know what happened," they say, "but we do know who saved us. To the Saviors, if you're out there watching this, the world owes you a great debt."

Another part of this is a reflection on the prophecy. The story now all told, the Beacons go back and discern its meaning. I will try and be brief here, but the truth is that the whole thing goes much deeper.

 _Should Eden fall into demise_

-Pretty simple: Eden was lost.

 _Then seven Beacons, at once, shall rise_

-Again, not hard: Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford, Irving, and Django.

 _Their first plight, through a land so vast_

-See chapters 7-18. Part II, The Journey.

 _Their second, into a darkened past_

-Basically anything that happened prior to Ray meeting the Beacons falls under this line. However, combining it with the next line reveals something very interesting.

 _... a darkened past/ Where two are joined..._

-Ray and the Dragon were brothers, connected in the past.

 _Where two are joined, only One lights the way_

-Ray and Scott are joined in the past. However, only one, Ray, lights the way

 _The other has been led astray_

-This, then, would be Scott. However, if he was led astray, then somebody had to lead him...

 _They fight on three sides of what is one wall_

-This line is tricky, as it refers to a number of different things. One old explanation I had of this was a barrier of information between three groups of people—the Beacons (minus Ray and Scott), Ray and Mr. Crook, and Scott/The Dragon. Another explanation defines the wall as the Gate. There are three sides to the Gate—Zion, Eden, and Earth. Fighting takes place on all three sides. Also, people try to invade across the Gate in three different ways: evil into Zion, good into Zion, and evil into Earth. Basically, the literal interpretations of this line each alone don't really fulfill the prophecy, but altogether those words are pretty accurate.

 _Knowing that One or the Other will fall_

-Notice how One and Other are capitalized. These refer to the same One and Other previously mentioned. That is, Ray and Scott. Ray or Scott will fall.

 _And all this time, but standing aside/ Is the seven's assistance, an eighth, a guide_

-One of the key realizations is that the eighth and the guide are actually two different people. The eighth is Ray, the guide is Scott

 _But Fools, be warned, all is not as once thought_

-The Beacons (Fools) thought the Dragon was evil, but that's not the truth

 _For the enemy whom you have sought_

 _In a clever snare is caught_

 _And therefore not who must be fought_

-Put simply, the Dragon is not the real enemy.

 _The truest evil lies ahead_

 _He whose glare fills One with dread_

 _Whose touch can make the living dead_

 _Who must be fought in the Other's stead_

-Again, reinforcing that Mr. Crook is the real enemy, who must be fought instead of the Other—that is, Scott/The Dragon. More specifically, we see a description of his powers. His touch makes the living dead, or Shadows. However, when Irving brings this new prophecy to earth, it was collectively misinterpreted to reference Ray's ability to make a living man dead with a single touch.

 _The man who seeks a Devil's throne_

 _Who wants the world for his own_

 _This true evil remains unknown_

 _And yet he hails from close to home_

-A description of the true villain's motivation, and most ominously, the last line revealing only that the intended audience of this prophecy consider themselves intimate friends with the villain.

That is basically the true meaning of the prophecy. One final aspect of these chapters is the recognition of the dead. A proper funeral for Ray is held, and after remembering the past, the Beacons look towards the future. It can only get better.

[Proof]

 _So I'll sing a new song_

 _Though I don't know how_

 _I'll bring you along_

 _Come on, let's go now_

 _'Cause nothing is wrong_

 _And you can't grow down_

 _There's only brightness ahead, baby_

[End proof]

In addition to the explained prophecy, there is a final compilation of every verse of what I came to call the Beacons Song. (Note: many verses, especially in later chapters, we're not written yet. Objective was 30-40 verses. Finished at 17.)

[Proof]

 _The legend of the seven Beacons fill'd with pow'r so great_

 _The story of the glory of the seven and an eighth_

 _Be wary of the scary other side and twists of fate_

 _But see right here that new frontier, and step across the Gate_

 _..._

 _This is the start; we now depart upon a journey long_

 _The stream will guide us on our ride so that we shan't step wrong_

 _For we head west on our great quest to climb the mountain strong_

 _And thus, we go to peaks of snow with this medieval song_

 _..._

 _When darkness falls upon these walls the Dragon rules the night_

 _But in these beds lie seven heads; all Beacons burning bright_

 _And our last hope is that they'll cope with evil in its might_

 _It's time to stand, defend our land, and let forth their great light_

 _..._

 _Alone and blind, I now must find the answers to my past_

 _If I had some, my friends are done; I've no supporting cast_

 _Even my name I can't retain; my end is coming fast_

 _I'm trapped in here, and bound by fear - this moment is my last_

 _..._

 _Alone and lost: is this the cost of finding paradise?_

 _At least on Earth, I knew my worth, but gamble on the dice..._

 _And lose my friends to this world's ends, too much a sacrifice_

 _I wouldn't have paid had I known they'd amount to be the price_

 _..._

 _You know, I thought that we'd been brought onto a better stage_

 _But once on ice, I found out twice that it's more like a cage_

 _And now I doubt that we're en route to quell this world's rage_

 _I'm not prepared to be declared the hero of this age_

 _..._

 _It took too long, but now, through song, we celebrate a high_

 _Our friends are found, now safe and sound, I think that I might cry_

 _United here in love and cheer, we reach towards the sky_

 _In peace and war, for evermore, we're friends until we die_

 _..._

 _Whene'er I see the misery the Dragon with him brought_

 _Then to the end I will defend the goodness I have sought_

 _And with my life I draw the knife to fight which must be fought_

 _I will contain the Dragon's reign 'till I'm reduced to naught_

 _..._

 _The hidden truth, a darkened youth where Good and Evil tread_

 _Two brothers dear, one there, one here, wind up in Eden's bed_

 _One branded saint, the Other ain't regarded more than dead_

 _They bid farewell, and none can quell the grudge held in their stead_

 _..._

 _They say I'm found, but on this ground I've lost my sense of me_

 _They help me train, but I remain a clouded mystery_

 _It's time to learn, but now I yearn to find identity_

 _I wish I knew exactly who I would turn out to be_

 _..._

 _Forget the past: it never lasts, and focus on today_

 _You can defeat entire fleets, shoot armies down like clay_

 _You've reached great lengths and found a strength to save us from the fray_

 _With peace of mind, you shall define a generation's way_

 _..._

 _They asked our aid in their crusade, but nothing's been fulfilled_

 _We tried to train, but discord reigns and too much blood is spilled_

 _Though once the ones, our time is done, for others are more skilled_

 _We're unprepared, the finders erred in choosing who they willed_

 _..._

 _Let us now make, for old times' sake, a sculpture like before_

 _Let us no play, on our last day, and build with our grandeur_

 _As darkness falls, ignore its call; forget about the war_

 _Enjoy the hour, don't make it dour, for that's what we fight for_

 _..._

 _A change of fate: we've crossed the Gate to stop another threat_

 _We blamed a friend, but in the end we were inadequate_

 _Now in a cell, we've time to dwell, the truest evil met_

 _We fell for lies, but now we're wise; the war's not over yet_

 _..._

 _To not be slain, we fled the plain, and hid in this ravine_

 _On hallowed ground, there is no sound, it's quiet and serene_

 _We're out of reach, war cannot breach this solemn, peaceful scene_

 _We're hiding here, without our fear, for we will not be seen_

 _..._

 _To mountains, woods, and neighborhoods we flew from evil's hand_

 _Without a plan, away we ran, dispersing 'cross the land_

 _We met with Hell, and none fared well; we lacked the strength to stand_

 _We're out of luck, in prison stuck, awaiting Death's command_

 _..._

 _Don't like this life of endless strife and living in the shade_

 _We're tired of hiding, now we're riding one final parade_

 _'Cause on this night we show our might and start our last crusade_

 _The fight begins to see who wins and which side will soon fade_

[End proof]

* * *

 **Chapter 80: A Paradise Found**

Now we start to enter the epilogue stage of the story. Five years later, enough rebuilding is done on Earth that Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford, Irving, Django, and Scott decide to finally return to Eden. As it happens, the Embers have been doing some rebuilding there, as well. Finally, Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford, Irving, and Django finally see Eden for what it was always meant to be: a paradise.

[Quote]

 _Come and follow me_

 _I will show you a land of wonder_

 _With tow'ring trees, a gentle breeze_

 _Flashing lightning, booming thunder_

 _This is a land that will leave you in awe_

 _A land without limits, a land without law_

 _If you believe, then you'll come, follow me_

 _Discover the land where you're finally free_

 _Come and follow me_

 _See the magic with your own eyes_

 _The rolling hills, which flowers fill_

 _Purple mountains touching blue skies_

 _Live in the land where you'll reach greater heights_

 _Laugh and enjoy it; you're filled with delights_

 _Love, 'cause you are now what you ought to be_

 _Here in the land where you're finally free_

 _Come and follow me_

 _To the place where your dreams will come true_

 _Where you can run, and have some fun_

 _Laugh out loud and feel good as new_

 _Look at the sky, see the stars shining bright_

 _Listen to cries at the moon in the night_

 _Here, life is good; here, it fills you with glee_

 _This is the land where you're finally free_

[End quote]

They see Eden the way Ray had strived to make it. Truly, all was well with the world.

* * *

 **Chapter 81: The Legend**

[Proof]

 _Many years later..._

A woman opened the screen door separating her house from her backyard. "All right, kids," she called out to the two young children laughing and playing outside. "Bedtime!"

A collective _aww_... came from the kids, but they went inside without much fuss.

"You know, your grandmother was thinking about telling you a story," said the mother.

The kids looked up. Grandma told the best stories.

"But only if you get in bed quickly," their mother stipulated. "She won't be here for long."

With this additional motivation, the kids took only a few minutes to do everything they needed to do, and soon enough, the kids' grandmother was telling them one of the many stories they found so enchanting.

"What story should we read tonight?" the old lady asked. "Should we have an adventure story?"

The two children shook their heads, smiling. They knew, as did the elderly, what story they wanted to hear.

"All right. How about a fairy tale?"

The kids shook their heads again.

"Do you want to hear a mystery, then?" asked the mother again.

For the third time, the kids shook their heads.

"Tell us the legend, mommy!" the younger one yelled. "We wanna hear the legend!"

"Yeah!" the elder sibling agreed. "Let's hear the legend!"

The woman laughed. She must have told this story a thousand times now, each update more magical than the last. And still her grandchildren hadn't heard the tale nearly enough. She dove into the whimsical tale with a smile on her face.

"Once upon a time there was this magical land far, far away...

The children listened, as she described in great detail the beauty of the land, from the towering trees to the tiny flowers, the tallest mountain to the deepest sea, the endless grassland to the magnificent city.

The grandmother told her heirs of some friends who discovered the magical land.

"Let's see," she said, her old voice still full of that vibrant youth which she owned all those years ago. "One of the boys, his name was... hmm... how about Daniel?"

The eight-year old boy smiled.

"And the girl, why don't we call her Sarah?"

His sister of five shared the smile. Their grandmother always named her characters after them.

"These friends, they discovered the fairyland together, and they all thought it was perfect."

The old lady went on to explain how something that looks perfect usually isn't so. She told her grandchildren how the friends in the story learned this the hard way.

"When they reached the city," she said, "they were expecting to see something as amazing as the forest, or the mountains, or the prairie—maybe even as good as all of them put together. Instead, they found it burned by an evil dragon."

She then told her grandchildren how Daniel and Sarah went to find the evil dragon. She described in great detail their quest to locate the creature who took so much from them. She spoke of how Daniel and Sarah finally found the dragon, and how they planned to kill him.

Then she told them how the dragon reacted to meeting the two friends.

"The dragon apologized!" she exclaimed. "He said he wasn't actually evil! He said he burned the city because he thought that was the only way he could protect his brother! And when Daniel and Sarah heard this, do you know what they did?"

The kids, of course, knew exactly what they did. But the words sounded so much better coming from their grandmother, so they stayed quiet and let her speak.

"They _forgave_ him," she said. "They _forgave_ the dragon. And few things are quite so powerful as forgiveness."

The grandmother told the young children how the dragon knew of a certain man living in the city who wanted more than anything to kill his brother and anyone else who got in his way. She spoke of how Daniel and Sarah teamed up with the dragon to stop this man. The kids listened with wonder and awe as the real evil destroyed his own city to try and kill the dragon's brother, and gasped in amazement as the group of friends made a last-minute escape to Daniel and Sarah's home.

Finally, the eldest woman reached the climax of the legend, where the evil man attacked Daniel and Sarah's home to try and destroy the dragon's brother. She told her grandchildren how in doing so, the man actually succeeded. The dragon's brother died.

"But in killing the dragon's brother," the lady narrated. "The evil man showed Daniel, Sarah, and the dragon the one thing more powerful than everything else in the world. Do you know what that one thing was?"

This was it. The moment of true magic the kids had all been waiting for. They refused to speak the answer, as it would only ruin the moment.

Their grandmother smiled, watching the siblings with her warm, welcoming eyes.

"Love," she said. "Daniel, Sarah, and the dragon learned that love was the most powerful thing in the world. It was so powerful, in fact, that their love for the dragon's brother brought him back from the dead. Because if you love someone enough, they can never be truly lost."

Few lessons were as influential on the children as this one. Could a love so powerful that it would _raise someone up_ from the dead actually exist? After hearing such a whimsical story, the kids believed.

The grandmother finished her story, as the four friends worked together, defeated the evil man, and lived happily ever after.

She kissed her grandchildren goodnight, and walked out the door.

"It seems to me you never outgrow this story," she said into the hallway.

The mother of Daniel and Sarah stepped out from around the corner. The old lady knew she had been standing there, listening through the wall.

"The way you tell it, mom," the middle-aged woman explained, "it seems so real. I know it's not, but all the same..."

"Grace." Isabella Flynn put a warm hand on her daughter's shoulder. "It _is_ real. That legend is as real as you want to make it."

Mother and daughter bade each other one final farewell, and the eldest lady walked to her car and drove off into the night, singing softly.

 _I will raise you up from the blackened, burning ashes_

 _I will raise you up from the depths of fallen cities_

 _I will raise you up from the fire and mend your gashes_

 _(I will) raise you up... raise you up to me, in eternity_

[End proof]

The End. Completely. Of Part Nine ( _The Aftermath_ ), Book Three ( _Unforgettable_ ), and the story itself.

* * *

 **Final Notes**

The prophecy is an extremely confusing poem, and although I explained it all to you earlier, perhaps there is one line which you do not fully understand.

"They fight on three sides of what is one wall"

In the story, I explained that this line has many interpretations, which play out in a number of different and confusing ways. I explained that taken alone, any interpretation of the line makes very little sense, but that the combination of all the alternate interpretations means the wording could not be any more precise. However, while all this is true, there are more interpretations which were not covered in the story, mainly because they extend beyond the text.

Let us start with the most simple: that line was a nod to the three books—Unimaginable, Unpredictable, Unforgettable. They refers to all characters in The Beacons, and the wall is the cover of the story, making the three sides the three books in which they fight. Next, you could notice that perhaps they refers to you, the readers, fight refers to the struggle to understand, and wall refers to all the books, taken together. Personally, I feel that The Beacons can be interpreted in three distinct ways. First, literally, where the story is simply that—a story, with nothing special about it and nothing more to it. Second, symbolically, where occurrences in the story reveal larger themes at play. Finally, theologically, where events and characters in the story provide moral and religious lessons.

Now, that second interpretation is really interesting. In fact, that interpretation probably makes that line from the prophecy the ten most important words of the story. Because if you can look beyond the literal story and find the deeper meanings, the entire story changes completely. I probably sound like your English teacher now... all the same, I have two more sections of notes I want to get to, and then I can finally say that I am done talking about The Beacons. First, I want to talk about the symbolical story, and second, the theological story. I should hope that if you've gotten this far you understand the literal story pretty well.

So first, the symbolical story. This story is basically all the connections within the literal story that weren't relevant to the literal story. One good example starts with the fact that even though I have divided The Beacons into three books, it presents itself quite clearly in two halves. In the first half, people must defeat the Dragon; in the second, Mr. Crook. That said, you may not have noticed that the two halves mirror each other almost completely. The following paragraph is a plot summary from either Ch. 1-37 or Ch. 38-81. Take your pick.

Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford, Irving, and Django are having fun when they are suddenly called to a mysterious world known as Eden, where an ages-old prophecy predicts them to save it from a great evil. Upon arriving, they find themselves in a dramatic fight, shortly after which they are separated. While separated, one group winds up in a village known as Exodus. However, the moment all protagonists are reunited, they have to travel to the city Zion to defend it from the enemy. After that battle ends, the team left without control of Zion plans an infiltration mission, which ultimately fails. Thus follows a brief respite from the war, ending with a romantic scene between Phineas and Isabella. During this time, the Beacons prepare for an eventual climactic onslaught against the enemy and his armies of Shadows, with one side or the other fated to perish at the end. Luckily, the Beacons win this epic battle against all odds, and enter a period of celebration and restoration.

And so history repeats itself. Another good example of the symbolical story can be found by analyzing the differences between the two halves, where instead of mirroring the first half, the second half reverses it. One difference between the two halves is the role of Ferb and the Hawkridge brothers. In the first half, Ferb dies near the start, then is resurrected near the end. In the second half, Scott is resurrected near the start, then Ray dies at the end. It's backwards. Another notable difference is that in the first half, the training period comes before the respite period, whereas in the second half, the respite precedes the training. Again, it's backwards.

So surely this all must mean something, but what? Well, the connections themselves tell the symbolic story. To understand the meaning behind them, you must dig even deeper, and in doing so, you will reach the third story.

The theological story reveals the real-world meaning behind everything in both of the other stories. I won't reveal everything, because that would ruin the wonder, and because I haven't written everything, but I will reveal some.

I use the word theology here because the deepest meanings of my story are mostly religious. And by religion, I am sure you have guessed I mean Christianity. That said, although there are a few elements specific to Christian theology, I tried to be as broad as possible, focusing less on imprinting Christianity upon people and more on revealing theological or existential truths. For example, the concept of good and evil. In The Beacons, ultimate good—that is, God—is represented by light. Not a particularly active force, but everywhere its presence is seen, everything seems to be right. Besides, terms like Beacon and Ember refer to the good guys. God's soldiers.

Thus, if light represents the concept of good, then evil, naturally, is shown through darkness. It wouldn't be the first time that analogy has been made. Consider the Shadows—or as Landon says, "the dark in the day" (Ch. 45). Literally speaking, Shadows are places where light cannot reach. More clearly, those who cannot touch good are evil.

However, while this truth is distinctly religious, the precise nature of the relationship between good and evil is meant to adhere to a distinctly Christian doctrine. Some religions believe that good and evil are opposing natures, others believe that good and evil are opposing actions, others believe that real evil does not exist, and still others believe that real good does not exist. The official Christian doctrine concerning the matter states that every creation—dogs, cats, flowers, trees, mountains, oceans, Moses, Jesus, and even Satan, the Devil himself—is inherently good. Nothing evil can be physically touched by anything or anyone, because evil is immaterial. Christian doctrine asserts that evil is any action which denies or contradicts an all-good God. God controls creation, and so all of creation is good, but he does not control the actions of his creation, and thus those actions can be evil. This is one reason I used the term Shadow over, say, henchman. By calling them Shadows, I make them immaterial, and thus not necessarily all-good.

Perhaps the best way to get in touch with the theological story is to look at Old Language. Tuveri akher, for one. Brighten the dark. That tells more about the theological story than it does the literal one.

Then, of course, there are some other theological themes to consider, but I'm only going to touch upon them. The idea of resurrection, for one. It happens to Ferb (Ch. 36), Scott (Ch. 49), and Ray (Ch. 76). What does that tell you? And don't focus just on Christianity. There's also the concept of fire. Sure, it plays into the concept of light, but what more does it mean? Consider, among other things, the Dragon and the Old Language quote, "Kuften reomen yurni taomen tsahk veritan, coen boandil ferreomen ganton fuar." Translated: "If we burn each other over our differences, we will find ourselves the same in our ashes." From the Omen Wisdom Passage. Finally, think about the role of the characters with whom you are familiar—that is to say, Phineas, Ferb, and everyone else who is not an Original Character. I will tell you right now that they represent those people in the real world with whom you are familiar—namely, yourself. Taking that knowledge into account, search for the message this story has to offer you. Hint: it's not get superpowers, kill bad guys, and save the world. That's the literal story, not the theological one.

So do I really expect you to go back into my incomplete story and search for every detail regarding every interpretation, and find every hidden truth and deeper meaning on every level of every story? No, I don't. I'm not your English teacher. Yet I am clearly asking you to do so. Surely you wonder why. Well, the only reason I want you to go back and search for the details I left out of these final notes is that I hope that in doing so, you will find the same wonder I found while writing this, and furthermore, I believe that wonder is worth the effort. As the Lost Wisdom Passage says, "Do not expect a lost thing to return. Instead, go forth and search it out, for those who look will find far more than they seek."

This concludes my writings and notes from The Beacons.


End file.
